


Favor's Fortune

by Littlemiss23rd



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cussing, F/M, Gangs, How Do I Tag, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Romance, Violence, rated m to be safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:49:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26943178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littlemiss23rd/pseuds/Littlemiss23rd
Summary: They were used to attention...just not this kind of attention! With their dad going on a mysterious long trip and three strange-ish men now acting as body guards, Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have to face the fact that they're wanted...by biggest gang lord in the city?
Relationships: Boomer/Bubbles Utonium, Brick/Blossom Utonium, Bubbles Utonium/Original Character(s), Butch/Buttercup Utonium
Comments: 23
Kudos: 78





	1. Setting the Scene

**Author's Note:**

> It's here! My next story! As a heads up, I won't be updating this nearly as often as I do my other story. This is not my priority story right now but something I'm writing in between chapters of my other story to give myself a bit of a break. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted. All I can say is that it'll be before the end of the year. That's the kind of gap there'll be between chapters for this story. Also, unlike the Number 3, I won't be posting here unless I'm truly happy with the flow of the chapter and story. That'll add to the time between posts. Potentially a lot. Sorry!  
> I don't own Powerpuff Girls. Sadly.

"Please Mojo, for old time’s sake! I've tried everything to get out now but Him just keeps finding reasons to keep me around," a man wearing a white lab coat pleaded. He had dark eyes and messy black hair dusted with grey that clearly came naturally with age. The few wrinkles around his eyes said that the man smiled frequently while the ones on his forehead said he was prone to stress.

The other man sighed and rubbed a temple. He wore a blue suit with a purple tie. His black hair was sleeked back and had one singular stripe of green and purple through it. An odd fashion choice but it had become a signature of sorts for the man over the years.

"John, old friend. I understand the troubles you are in and by understand I mean I have full comprehension. You must see my position, that is my place in things, on this. Him is the only one equal in power and therefore rival to me. If Him has done everything he can to keep you then I do not see what I am able to do that would be of assistance."

"You just said it yourself, you're the only one who rivals Him. If anyone can get me out it's you. Please. If you do this for me you can consider all our old debts squared away. I won't ever ask for another thing so long as I live."

Mojo sighed and looked off in thought for a few moments. "All debts? Including the debt that came from helping me with my sons?"

"All of them."

"Why now? Why must this moment here at this exact time be the time you must leave this life? This is a most awkward time. A new group, that is a congregation we have never seen on the streets before, has been moving in on all territories. Him has a large number, most but not all, of his operations based around your work for Him. For you to pull out now with this group that, again, has never been seen before on these streets moving in, he will not hesitate to do all that he can to keep you in the game."

"The girls, they're graduating college soon. Blossom wants to be a lawyer. She’s all set for law school and everything! How can I truly give her my blessing if I'm involved in this life still? You know that everything that I do is for them. This isn't any different."

Mojo sighed again. He looked at his long-time friend before heaving yet another sigh. "Fine. I will do this for you. For now it is imperative that you do not let anyone realize what we are doing. I will need at least a month, at least meaning no less but potentially more, to prepare everything that will be necessary and required for us to start this endeavor."

John sighed in relief. "I can do that. You don't know how thankful I am that you're willing to help Mojo."

Mojo barked out a laugh. "Thank me when we succeed. This is a most ambitious action we are about to attempt to take. It could easily kill us both."

"Anything for the girls Mojo. Anything I need to do to be the man they see me as finally, I'll do it."

"I will be holding you to that John."

* * *

"Would. You. Knock. It. Off!" Blossom ground out. She took a swipe at the man next to her only for him to dance away laughing. She glared, knowing her pink eyes for once wouldn't unnerve the person she was focusing them on, as her hair fell around her.

It had been up in a high ponytail, her typical look, which complimented her outfit, and therefore her, wonderfully. High-rise denim jeans with a light pink, sleeveless blouse, a black ribbon around the collar and a white cardigan, her high ponytail had seemed to bring the look together, held up with a small black ribbon as well. The ribbon that was currently in the hands of the man just out of her reach.

Brick Jojo was quickly becoming the bane of her existence. She'd been hearing of him and his brothers for years, even seen him in a few of her classes, but this year had been the first where she'd had to interact with him. She was really starting to hate this year.

Known trouble makers, the Jojo brothers were close and did nearly everything together, with the sole exception seeming to be college. She'd heard that while one brother owned a coffee shop and the other was a trade mechanic, Brick had pushed himself in high school hard enough to get a full ride scholarship to Townsville University, same as her. And the college girls apparently couldn't get enough of him. Oh, they were all over his brothers too when they came to visit but the rumor mill made it clear, Brick Jojo was the alpha dog and that made him prize #1.

She supposed that visually, she understood. He clearly had some healthy habits, the gym probably being top. He had the ideal body type. Broad shoulders, nice Dorito shape, a good 6'3" at least, making him almost a foot taller than her, and all that. His choice of clothing was also mouthwatering. Faded and tattered jeans that fit perfectly, though he let them fall just that tiny amount that had girls drooling, with a nice fitted black shirt and open red, long sleeved flannel. All of which seemed to very nicely show off his well-defined, muscular body. Add in the shoulder length red hair, currently pulled back into a bun behind that annoying red hat he always wore, and the intense red eyes and she couldn't find herself lying about it. Yes. Visually she understood.

Every other way? She decided that if she never saw this man again it would be too soon. Especially with that annoyingly frustrating smirk he seemed to always have glued to his face around her. He was all sexy smiles and flirty looks with other girls but her? She got 100% annoying Brick Jojo.

"What are you, 5? Give me that back Brick," she said through grit teeth, hand held out. He chuckled as he twirled the ribbon around his fingers.

"C'mon babe, you look so much better with the hair down. All that red just like silk laying against those gorgeous curves of yours? Just breathtaking. I ever tell you I'm a huge fan of red?" He said. She growled at him.

"Almost daily. I keep telling you that I don't care. I like the way I look with it up so give. It. Back."

He chuckled but relented, thankfully. She snatched it out of his hand and immediately went about putting it back up.

"Seriously, how on earth did I end up stuck with you? There are plenty of other law firms in town looking for interns. What on earth made you pick this one?"

He shrugged. "Could ask you the same thing babe. Would have thought you'd go for one of the bigger firms."

She huffed. Showed how little he knew about her. "This firm might not be rolling in cash like the others but their morals are miles better. They're all about helping people, putting criminals behind bars, and giving second chances to those who deserve it even. That's why I'm here."

Brick shrugged. "I figured it was just cause the application for here was the easiest."

She rolled her eyes before moving towards the building, hoping her hair looked somewhat presentable. She'd check next chance she got.

"I'm assuming that's why you're here then."

He hummed at that. "Maybe, maybe not." She felt a slight tug on her hair and grit her teeth. She was about to spin and glare at him again but stopped when she felt his hands at the top of her ponytail. "It's crooked. Gimme a sec."

She huffed and crossed her arms as she waited. "I swear to god Jojo, if you just mess up my hair again I'll-"

"I know, chill. I was the one who messed it up in the first place, only right that I fix it. There, almost good as new."

She turned and glared at him. That blasted smirk was still there. She never regretted the decisions she made in life, which would be like admitting she’d make a mistake, but this man was quickly making her regret one. She glanced at the red, beat up sedan parked not far away. They had a class together right before their internship started and the first day he'd offered to drive them both to save them some money on gas. She might not have too much to worry about on that front but she hadn't wanted Bubbles to hear that she'd passed on something like this. Her sister was known for being extremely environmentally conscious after all. Although, his old beat up care was probably anything but good for the environmental. Oh well, she’d accepted the offer and what was done was done.

"It better be."

She spun on her heels and marched to the building, Brick following her with a chuckle. To think, she'd been looking forward to this internship too.

* * *

"And you wouldn't believe what she said to that! She had the gall to say that I was the one being overbearing! Seriously! Me!" Bubbles huffed and took a sip from her tea. The man across from her chuckled.

"Maybe she just thought it wasn't your place to step in Bubs, that's all." He said. She sighed at his response. Trust her boyfriend to see the other side incorrectly.

She reached up to twirl a pigtail, slightly annoyed. Cabel was a great guy, really, he was. His one bad habit was that he was too nice, and this was coming from her! At the smallest hint of trouble he seemed to go belly up kind of submissive. She'd originally thought it had been sweet but now she found herself a little annoyed by it. Only sometimes though. Other than that he was perfect.

Tall, 6' even, spiky blond hair, gorgeous green eyes, a nice amount of muscle. He was definitely a looker. Some girls might think he looked a bit awkward, his limbs being rather long but she appreciated it. Being only 5'1", the shortest among her sisters, she had a nice appreciation for people who could grab things she couldn't. Plus, she'd thought it was kinda cute. His fashion sense also matched hers and everything he wore seemed to always compliment her outfits. An overall amazing boyfriend.

She went to take another sip from her tea only to sigh. It was empty and a glance at the clock told her she had another 30 minutes before she had to leave for class. Time for another cup.

"I'll be right back," she said as she went to the counter. Cabel smiled gently at her and nodded. She sighed when she got to the counter.

"What can I get for you?" The cashier asked. She didn't look his way as she sighed again.

"Just a green tea please," she said softly. He hummed at that.

"Same way as earlier? Splash of lemon juice and a spoonful of honey?"

She blinked at this and finally looked at the cashier. He was almost sin on a plate, especially with that delightful smile he was giving her. She felt herself blush. She was sure that any other time, i.e. when he wasn't wearing an apron, the ladies wouldn't be able to leave him alone. Then again, with a glance around the coffee shop, she doubted the apron was deterring many of them anyways.

He was tall, a good four or five inches taller than Cable at least, and clearly more muscular too. She could see he was wearing some old jeans and a basic, but tight fitting, blue shirt under the white apron. His hair was blond, brighter than Cabel’s and more similar to her own as well as long enough to cover the tips of his ears. It curled sweetly around them with a slight wave in it giving him an innocent look that seemed very at odds with that smile he was still giving her. He also had dark ocean blue eyes that were giving her a once over as well.

She flushed more. She had put a little more thought into her outfit than usual, something that her sisters had been impressed by since she normally put a lot of thought in anyways, because she knew she would be meeting with Cabel today. A flowery, off the shoulder crop top that highlighted her naturally large chest and left her narrow waist on display with white high-wasted pants to highlight that after that narrow waist was a pair of nice large hips. While Blossom had the largest butt, Bubbles wasn't far behind. The cute cardigan she’d grabbed from Blossom’s closet this morning was draped over the back of her chair. It threw the outfit off but just slightly and there was enough of a chill in the air that she didn’t care. Much.

Bubbles smiled back and tried to get her blushing under control. It was hard not to bat her sky blue eyes at him with the look he was sending her way but that would have been wrong. She was with Cabel, and even on a date with him. Tall gorgeous men whose names weren't Cabel were not on today's agenda.

"Yes please. Thank you," she said softly, looking away again. She could feel that smile still and nervously played with a pigtail.

"Coming right up sweetheart," he purred causing her to jump. She glared at him, blush still there though. He chuckled and went to make her tea as she waited.

"Here you are," he said as he slid the cup over to her. She took it once his hands were clear.

"Thank you. How much?"

He waved her off. "On the house. I heard your story. Consider it a thank you for doing what's right, even if the bitch clearly couldn't understand that."

She jolted slightly and that darned blush grew again. This man! Every time she got herself under control he found a way to ruin that. She swallowed thickly and felt him watch every movement as she did so.

"That's not necessary, really, and I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. I'm sure the owner wouldn't appreciate you handing out a free cup."

He chuckled and she couldn't help but nervously shift her weight from one foot to another. "You're right, normally the owner doesn't like the employees just handing out free drinks but I promise I'm not about to get in trouble with him. We're pretty much always on the same page so trust me sweetheart. I'm not about to get in trouble with him."

Normally she would have argued some more, tried to get him to take her money for the drink regardless, but he was still giving her that smile. So, instead, she nodded and quickly spun to make her way back to Cabel. She felt his eyes on her the whole way and they didn't leave even after she had sat down.

"You okay Bubs?" Cabel asked. She smiled but couldn't help but shift in her seat again. He was still watching her, she knew it.

"Of course. Now, where was I?"

* * *

"That is complete and utter bullshit!" She yelled at the man in front of her. Normally her yelling and being spitting mad like she was currently was enough to have people cowering. This man just looked annoyed back.

"I assure you miss, it isn't. Now if you would please-"

"I know my car jackass! What you just quoted me is wrong! Have someone else take a look!"

Normally, she'd give the guy a pat on the back at this point. Not only was he handling her, and she knew she was a lot to handle sometimes, but he was also keeping it professional somehow. This wasn't normally though and she tended to be a bit easier to aggravate when it came to her car. Blossom loved to get on her back about it and she'd gotten better but sometimes she just couldn't. This was one of those times.

"I'm sorry that you're unhappy with the quote miss but I promise you it's correct."

"Fuck. That. I want another mechanic to take a look. Preferably one who actually knows their shit!"

"Hey Mike, why don't you go take your break? You're overdue for it," another man said as he walked up to the desk. Buttercup turned to glare at him.

He was tall enough that she has to look up slightly, but not too tall. Maybe around 6' she thought, making him about four inches taller than her. His hair, which was as dark as hers, was gelled to stand up in spikes in a fauxhawk style. His green eyes, a few shades darker than her own she noted, were dancing with amusement. He had on a mechanics outfit and was wiping some oil off his hands with a dirty looking rag. Even with the loose uniform, she could tell he was built like a tank. His shoulder alone seemed to fill the uniform to the seams.

"You sure man?" The man in front of her asked. She glared at the two. She didn't really care who she talked to so long as someone took another goddamned look at her car!

"Yeah, go on."

Mike wasted no time on leaving and Buttercup found herself giving the new man her full attention. He also didn't seem to cower like most did when facing her anger. In other words, he was another idiot.

"I want a second opinion," she spat out at him. He walked up to her and held out his hand, a cocky smile on his face.

"Hello, name's Butch. And you are?"

She sighed before shaking his hand. Fine. She'd try to be a little pleasant. Maybe then she'd get what she wanted.

"Buttercup. Owner of the black Toyota Camry sitting out front. That's brand fucking new."

"Right right. Just gimme a sec to look over the other mechanic’s notes."

She huffed and crossed her arms but stayed silent as he skimmed the documents. He sighed when he reached the end.

"Well, I can see why you're pissed. I would be too."

He looked up at her as he said this. She watched as he did a super quick once over on her and she frowned. She'd let Bubbles force her to change slightly before leaving and was sort of regretting.

Don't get her wrong, it was still all her own clothing, she just usually reserved this stuff for nights out and hook-ups. She had on her normal skinny jeans, that she should really start thinking of replacing as the knees were just holes at this point, and a tight fitting black tank top that tended to ride up slightly with her black leather jacket. Bubbles kept going on about how sexy the shirt was because it allowed for that smallest look at her abs. She couldn't really argue with her. It was why she'd kept the top.

"Yeah. I want a second opinion."

"Don't think that's gunna be necessary." Before she could say anything he held up a hand and continued. "See there was a mistake. Mike wouldn't have known about it but Kev, the guy who did this, was looking at a different car today. Mike came in late so he didn't know. Simple clerical mistake."

He walked over to where there were a number of reports before sifting through them. He finally found what he was looking for and brought it over to hand to her.

"Here's the right report."

She watched him hesitantly before snatching the report from him. She looked it over and sighed in relief. This was what she had been expecting. She turned to look at the man again who was smiling cockily at her. She huffed.

"This is fine. I'm okay with them doing the suggested actions."

He chuckled at her and leaned over the table to type something on the computer.

"Sounds good. I'll let the guys know when I head back."

"Great." She turned to leave but didn't even make it the door before stopping. There was a voice in her head, sounding suspiciously like her older sister, that was nagging at her about her earlier behavior. She turned back to see the man still watching her. She grit her teeth before sighing.

"Look, tell that guy, Mike was it? Tell him I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone off at him like that. It's just, that thing's my baby you know?"

He chuckled again at that. "I get it. I'll pass it on."

She felt a rush of air leave her at that. Sweet. No face to face apologies for her today!

"Great. Awesome. Gimme a call when it's ready for pickup."

She didn't waste any time waiting for a reply and was quickly out the door in no time, the man's chuckles seeming to follow her out.


	2. Night Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back! And gotta say dying to write more of this story! I really do love it. I'm hoping to have enough written up to have a somewhat constant posting schedule for this story soon too. It won't be as often as #3 but it'll be something. That said, I haven't written up nearly as much as I wanted to since school finished. Not gunna lie, I was a bit burnt out between work and school. I'm relaxed though and have more energy so I should be able too write what I plan to! (As long as I can pull myself away from Genshin Impact which is a very addicting game...)  
> Thank you everyone for the kudos, follows, and comments! They really do breathe life into my motivation.

"Alright dad, what was so special we had to come out to the best brunch place in town to talk about it?" Buttercup asked as the waiter walked off after leaving them with their drinks.

"Can't we just enjoy a nice family brunch?" His smile was strained causing all three girls to exchange looks. He sighed in defeat. "Alright, you caught me."

"To be fair daddy, you weren't exactly hiding it," Bubbles said with a giggle. He gave her a tired smile.

"I suppose I wasn't. Things have come up at work that’ll cause life to change a little."

"Is this something we should be worried about?" Blossom asked as she stirred her tea. The professor shook his head.

"It shouldn't be an issue. I'm mostly looking to retire in the next year or so but to do that there's a lot of things that I need to take care of first.”

"You're going to retire? But daddy, you’re not retirement age. Can you afford to retire so early?" Bubbles asked.

"I have enough in savings that yes, I can. Plus, now that you three are nearly done with college I want to kick back a little. Enjoy the fruits of my labor."

"So what does this mean for us going forward? You mentioned change?" Blossom asked.

The professor sighed again. "Yes. That. Well, it's looking more and more like I might have to go on a rather long trip. I might be gone for only 6 months, or I might be gone for 12. It's hard to say."

"What? That's such a long time though! And what about graduation?!" Buttercup exclaimed leaning forward over the table.

"Don't worry. I promise that I'll be there for your graduation. I might have to leave after again for a bit but I’ll be here to see you three walk. I might even be lucky and have everything taken care of by then. After this is taken care of though you can count on my not going anywhere for a good long while. I'll be enjoying a chance to just sit and read a good book," the professor said with a chuckle.

"Still, that's a really long time. Do they really need you for that long? Your usual trips haven't ever been more than a month," Blossom added.

"Yes, they do. I'll mostly be training my replacement, a young man by the name of Dexter. You might see him occasionally when we’re back in town though I doubt it. The training process is going to be intense and it needs my full attention. I’ll be living on site at the training location when we are in town too due to the extreme hours they’ll need me to put in. Most of the time though I expect to be doing a lot of travel with Dexter. Showing him all the sites and how they’re operated. That sort of thing."

All three girls pouted at that. They never liked when their father went off on his trips for work. He almost always came back looking like he'd aged by years, not weeks.

"Please girls, try to understand," he pleaded. The three girls exchanged another look before turning to smile softly at their father.

"Of course. As always, let us know if there's anything we can do to help," Blossom said. The professor smiled and reached out to squeeze her shoulder.

"You three really are the most amazing daughters a man could hope to have and you’re mother would be so proud. You're our treasures and you're what I want the world to remember me by."

"Oh c'mon dad. You're still young. Stop the legacy talk, we've heard it way too often. Oh, look. Food," Buttercup said, her full attention now solidly on the trays being brought to their table. The other members chuckled at that and turned to enjoy their food as well.

* * *

“I’m telling you Robbie! It was so weird!” Bubbles complained. The girl across the table from her, Robin, smiled at her reassuringly. The girl’s hair was up in a lazy ponytail that spoke to a long week and her make-up was light, more of an attempt to hide the bags under her eyes than anything else. Bubbles had felt so bad for her bestie that the coffee had been on her today. She was more than glad that her tests were done for a few more weeks. That and being a fashion major was so much up her alley. Majoring in psychology sounded like a nightmare to Bubbles. Too much memorization. Robin was always telling her she would be a natural in the field though.

“I mean, he takes off like two or three times a year right? It kinda makes sense that if he’s training a replacement that they’d want him to walk the new guy through all the stuff your dad does during his trips too. That’s going to take time.”

“Still! Something feels off about this whole thing. Daddy seems really worried about something with this whole trip.”

Robin shrugged as she took a sip from her coffee. “I’m sure it’s fine. I mean, you’re always saying that they love your dad at his workplace right? I’m sure they’ll do everything they can to make the whole thing go nice and smoothly.”

Bubbles pouted. “They love him so much I’m worried they might do the opposite. Ugh, between him and Bloss always having to be superstars I’m probably never going to be anything but average in life. Honestly, the two of them are ridiculous.”

Robin laughed slightly at that. “Don’t even. You have the most talented and creative mind I have ever seen. Even Buttercup would agree with me and we both know she has no clue about these sorts of things. Once you open your first shop you’ll blow everyone away and take off in no time.”

“You think? I dunno. Lately I feel like everything I make just isn’t good enough. The dress I made last week for Bloss just fell so flat compared to what I had imagined. I threw the thing out before she could see it.”

“What?! Bubs! Even the not so good stuff you make is amazing. If you’re going to throw something out give it to me instead!”

Bubbles giggled. “No, this one really was trash. Plus, you and Bloss are too different for me to give you anything I originally designed for her. It wouldn’t fit and even if I fixed it so that it would, it wouldn’t match your usual fashion. I’ll make you something just for you next. Right now though I really want to make Bloss that dress I promised her.”

“That’s a promise. I’m going to hold you to that. Next Bubbles’ original is mine. Are you in a slump maybe? Stressed about graduation?”

“I don’t think so? I dunno, maybe it is a slump. Hmmm,” Bubbles hummed in thought as she looked out across the campus. She and Robin were at their usual coffee shop. They’d gotten into the habit this semester of meeting up there before their afternoon classes to catch up on the small stuff. It was their main chance of catching up during the busy times of the semester.

“Maybe a change of scenery would help? You know, see something you don’t normally do to get the ideas flowing?” Robin suggested. The idea wasn’t a bad one Bubbles thought. “I heard about this coffee shop not too far away that sells an amazing cup. It apparently has a great vibe and there’s more than one cutie who works there. The owner is apparently pantie dropping kind of hot.”

Bubbles sputtered out a laugh at that. “Well someone is clearly ready for their next relationship. I’ll remind you though that I’m very much taken right now.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You and Cabel are grossly close still. It’s been, what, four months now? Definitely one of your longer relationships.”

“Oh don’t make it sound like that. You know the break-ups are rarely my fault! College guys apparently just can’t handle when a girl has priorities other than guys.”

“If only they’d met you back in high school instead huh?” Robin laughed out. Bubbles went beet red at that.

“Robin! I wasn’t that bad! You make me sound guy crazed or something.”

Robin gave her a look that Bubbles couldn’t help but look away from. “Let’s be real Bubs, you were pretty bad. I remember more than a few times where Bloss was about ready to pull her hair out because all you could think or talk about was the guy of the month.”

Bubbles pouted. “I maintain that I wasn’t that bad. Anyways, even though I can’t look clearly you need to. What’s the name of this new coffee shop?”

“What was it? I think it was called Ruff Tides?” Bubbles froze at the name. “It’s dog friendly and has a beach theme to it or something. I think that was the reason behind the name. I heard that in the evenings it also has things like poetry night or open mic night. They even have local bands play sometimes while they serve some spiked drinks. I heard the Irish coffee is to die for.”

“That’s…hmmm. I’ll think about it?” Bubbles mumbled as she played with her cup. She’d finished it but hadn’t wanted another coffee. Maybe this would be a good time to change her mind and get a refill. She didn’t get that chance though. Robin immediately noticed her change in demeanor.

“Okay, that was not the reaction I expected. Miss Ocean lover and animal fanatic isn’t excited about a coffee shop that has both? What’s up?”

Bubbles gave a nervous laugh. “Oh nothing. Really. Cabel and I were there not too long ago is all. Didn’t really get the creative juices flowing.”

“Well that’s probably because you were with Cabel. The guy has the creative energy of a rock. No offense,” Robin said as she held up her hands at Bubbles’ outraged sound. “He’s a great guy and all but even you have to admit he isn’t the most creative. Guy is a business major after all.”

“His major has nothing to do with anything! He just couldn’t…keep his grades up high enough as a chemistry major…and then he struggled when he was a lit major. Okay. Maybe, just maybe, you have a point and he isn’t the most creative but again! His major has nothing to do with that.”

Robin cocked an eyebrow. “Alrighty then. Cabel’s major has nothing to do with his lack of creative everything. Duly noted.”

“No. Wait. That came out wrong. He’s just…ugh! Robbie! Don’t be mean! I really like Cabel! He’s super nice!”

“And super boring but if you really want to keep this up go for it. I’m not about to stop you. Anyways, we need to get going for class. You and the other two still heading out tonight?”

Bubbles glanced at the clock before sighing and grabbing her stuff. “Yeah, sister’s night out. It would have been a girl’s night out but someone had to go and cancel.”

“You know what, I don’t even feel guilty. The A I plan to get on this early development test on Friday is totally worth skipping on a night out.”

Bubbles pouted. “Not nearly as much fun though.”

Robin chuckled as they left the table and started on their way to their classes. “True. I’ll make it up to you after I’m done with all my tests.”

“That’s a promise! You break that and I won’t make that new outfit for you!”

“Deal.”

* * *

"Okay, I talked to Robbie about it but I still feel like daddy was being weird yesterday. Did either of you get a weird vibe?" Bubbles asked as she applied her eyeliner. Her hair was down and curled expertly to frame her face. She was wearing a short blue, shiny backless dress and had a pair of black strappy heels sitting not far away.

"He's probably just not happy with this trip. Can't say I blame him. I'm not happy about it either," Buttercup said from across the room. She had on a dark green sleeveless shirt with an extremely low cut to it. It was tucked into a pair of black, skin tight jeans. She also had on a pair of black heeled boots and expertly done gold and black smoky eye eyeshadow. Her lips were a deep red color. Her hair was sitting in its normal shoulder length mess that always seemed to look intentional. Anyone who knew Buttercup though knew it was anything but.

"I don't know. He's never been gone this long. It is just a little on the weird side," Blossom said as she sorted through her jewelry. She was wearing a short, sparkly wine red dress and a pair of simple black heels that had a small bow on the back of them. Her hair wasn't up for once and fell against her like silk, coming down to her hips easily. Her makeup was simpler, going for a basic sparkly look and simple lip gloss. She found the earrings she was looking for before stepping over to her sister.

"See?! Bloss agrees with me,” Bubbles said with a pout at Buttercup. Said girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

“You two are way too sensitive about this stuff. He’s just never been gone for more than a month at a time is all. Give him a few days to get used to the idea and I’m sure he’ll be talking about it like he does all his other trips.”

“Maybe. I don’t think so though. Anyways! I regret bringing this up. It’s making me sad that he’ll be gone for so long so no more sad talk. Tonight is a night for laughs, drinks and fun!" Bubbles said as she added the finishing touches to her makeup. She had a silver smoky eye and red lipstick that she was finishing applying. Buttercup snorted.

"You forgot men. I need me some men tonight," she said with an almost obscene groan. Both sisters gave her a look.

"Men are not on my agenda. Taken remember?"

"Men as in plural? What kind of night are you imagining for yourself?"

Buttercup laughed at both her sisters.

"Sorry Bubs. Men are on my agenda. As for the whole plural thing, what can I say? I'm thirsty." She gave them both a lazy and wild grin. Both girls groaned.

"Oh my gosh. It is NOT going to be one of those nights," Bubbles groaned.

"If I'd known you were going to be like this I would have worn something different. I thought tonight was going to be sister’s night. As in, no men," Blossom said with a pout.

“Exactly! Sister’s night.”

"Oh it is. I just might disappear for a few minutes here and there. Maybe won't come home with you two but who knows. I'll see where the night goes," Buttercup said with a careless shrug.

"Oh my gosh you are impossible. That makes it not a sister’s night out but a normal one," Blossom mumbled.

"Whatever. Get off you high horse. You need a good lay even more than I do."

"I do not! Even if I did tonight is not the night for that! Tonight was supposed to be about us. Again, sister’s night and all that? I’ll be seriously angry if you go off and disappear with some random man."

"Did I say it wasn't? I’ll make sure to spend plenty of time on the dance floor with you two first. And don’t worry, I'm not gunna go gobble up every man I see. If I see one who's your type I'll make sure to send him your way."

"Don't you dare! That's the last thing I need tonight. I mean, for goodness sake I'm still getting over Alexi."

"Ah yes, the foreign student. Have I said I told you so yet?"

"Okay! Enough! We're here to have a good time tonight. Now, if you two are ready then shall we?" Bubbles asked as her two sisters had a glare off. With a huff and a roll of the eyes Buttercup nodded. Blossom let her glare soften.

"Yes Bubs, we shall," Blossom said as all three girls grabbed their stuff, quickly put on their shoes and left for the clubs.

* * *

"Not much of a turn out tonight. Which sucks cause I seriously wanted a wild night," Boomer said with a sigh as he leaned over the rails of the upper floor of the club. There were plenty of people dancing below them but no one had caught his eye.

"Well, it’s not closing yet. We can always try another club. Though, not sure I agree with you. Lotta hotties down there tonight with extra short skirts," Butch said as he joined his brother by the rails.

"Is that seriously all you two can think about? Thought this was supposed to be bonding time or some shit like that. Hell Boom, you were the one who even suggested the thing. Wouldn't stop begging until we said yes," Brick complained as he went to join his brothers. He wasn't sure which one he agreed with but he thought that tonight wasn't supposed to be about that so did it matter?

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Something just happened earlier in the week that got the blood pumping," Boomer groaned as he let his head drop. Tonight was no good apparently. Butch snorted.

"Something huh? How about someone? If you're checking girls out then someone must be a little frustrated. She not give it to you or something?"

Boomer glared. "That's not it. She had a boyfriend."

Brick snorted this time. "Like that ever stopped you."

"Yeah well, he was sitting just across the cafe so kinda made it a little more complicated."

"A customer? Dang bro, that sucks. Probably shouldn't be hitting on them though, let alone hooking up with them. Could cause trouble later on," Butch said as he took a swig from his beer. Boomer sighed.

"You know I usually don't. There was just...holy shit. Speak of the fucking devil.”

"What? She just show up? Here? Ha! That's way too convenient. Who?" Butch asked as he threw an arm around his brother and looked in the direction he was. Brick just sighed.

"Look, see by the bar? She's the blond in blue. Has a brunette and a red head with her."

Brick payed attention at that. He had a thing for the color red after all. Butch let out a low whistle when he saw them. Brick just groaned.

"Fuck. Her? Really? Shit," Brick said. The other two turned to look at their brother at that, eyebrows raised.

"Usually you'd be all over a red head like that bro. She's even wearing the color and a pair of fuck me heels," Butch said. Brick just sighed.

"Why this blonde Boom?" Brick asked. He could see the look in his brother’s eyes. He'd be on his way down there soon and there'd be no stopping him from talking to her. Boomer was watching the three girls again, mostly the blond, before he shrugged.

"She was sweet, really kind, but not afraid to do what's right. Really pure."

Both Butch and Brick groaned at this.

"Again? You seriously don't learn do you? What is with you and the pure type?" Brick said.

"Dunno. Just like showing them a little bit of the dark side I guess," Boomer said with a wild grin. His brothers both groaned at that.

"Jesus Boom. You need help."

"And you never said why you don't want the red head cause bro, she's hot. Like caps lock hot," Butch said. Brick sighed.

"I know her, that's what my problem is. Never said anything about wanting her or not. She's just...complicated."

Boomer snorted at that. "In other words you could totally be into her but because it wouldn't be a hit it and drop it you're making it way more complicated than it is."

"Shut up Boom. There’s more to it than that. A lot more."

Both Butch and Boomer snickered at that. It told them everything they needed to know. They turned back to watch the girls as they grabbed the ordered their drinks.

"Still, that brunette is smoking. Wouldn't mind a chat with her myself," Butch said. Boomer grinned.

"I'll stay here. You two go have fun," Brick said with a wave. His brothers glared at him.

"No way! Bro’s night out remember? Three of them, three of us. It's perfect. We all gotta go bro," Boomer whined. Brick glared.

"No. Plus, I still have plenty of my drink left. No need to head into the mass yet."

Butch reached over Boomer at that and grabbed his older brother's drink. He ignored the complaints as he downed it. He slammed it onto the table next to him once he finished.

"No more drink. Time to face the mass," Butch said with a grin. Brick glared.

"You fucker. My next drink’s on you."

* * *

"Third club of the night and still not much of a turn out is it?" Buttercup asked looking dejected. Bubbles sighed and set her glass down on the table.

"We just got here so how would you even know? It’s literally only been like, 10 minutes. And sister’s night!"

Buttercup waved her off. "I know because you and I have been sitting here alone for about 10 minutes and no one’s made a move. Hell, Bloss is still waiting for her drink at the bar and from what I can see, no one's made a move on her either!"

"That doesn't mean anything. Plus, tonight isn't supposed to be a hook up night."

"Maybe not for you but I don’t have a nice hunk on speed dial like you do. And again, third club! You’d think I would have found someone to mash lips with at least."

"Ugh, I wish you'd stop calling him that. He's more than just a pretty face you know."

"Oh I'm sure. He's dating you after all but like you just said, he's a pretty face."

"Well hopefully you ladies saw us coming and that compliment was meant for us," a man said from behind the two girls making them jump. They spun to see who it was.

"You-" both girls said at the same time before turning, confused to each other. The dark haired man, Butch Buttercup remember he said his name was, snapped his fingers and grinned.

"Shit, you're the firecracker from the shop a few days ago! Ha! What're the odds of that?"

"You know her?" The blond said. Boomer Bubbles remembered seeing on his name tag. Butch grinned at the blond.

"Yeah, she came in and ripped Mikey a new one cause of a clerical mix up. He spent his whole lunch break shaking like a leaf."

"Hey! I wasn't that bad," Buttercup said with a glare. Bubbles gave her a look.

"No that sounds about right. Bloss won't be happy to hear it though."

"Well she's not here to hear it and there's no reason to go telling her now is there?"

"Hmmm, I dunno."

"I'll buy you your next drink."

Boomer chuckled. "Well, I hope you won’t mind if I have the honors of doing that actually."

He sent that same grin from earlier in the week at her again and Bubbles quickly looked away. She purposefully avoided going to that coffee shop again just to avoid this man and yet here he was.

"You know him Bubs?"

"I saw him, once, earlier this week." She said as she nervously played with her hair. Boomer tracked the movement making her more nervous. Buttercup also watched for a second before shrugging.

"Well, what are the odds of that? Name's Buttercup and this is my sister Bubbles."

"It's a pleasure," Butch said as he sent a lazy grin at her. Buttercup couldn't help but grin back. Out of the uniform and in a pair of tightly fitting jeans and a black t-shirt she could see just how built the guy was. She was enjoying the sight too.

"My name's Boomer and this is my brother Butch. Mind if we join you ladies for a drink or two?"

Bubbles watched him hesitantly as Buttercup gestured for them to sit. Boomer chose a seat near Bubbles but not right next to her. Butch had no problems and sat in the seat right next to Buttercup.

"So what brings you two ladies out tonight? Celebrating or just enjoying a nice night out?" Butch asked as he draped an arm over the back of his chair and used the other one to prop his head up on the table, body turned to face Buttercup completely. She grinned and chuckled slightly, still letting her eyes wander. She didn't even feel bad about it. After all, she was just returning the favor.

"Just enjoying a night out with my sisters. Our older sister is still waiting on her drink at the bar," Bubbles said. She hoped Blossom would be back soon. Although he wasn't sitting right next to her, the smile Boomer was still giving her made her nervous and not in a creeper kind of way. Which almost made it worse for once.

"Sister’s night huh? Funny. We're actually out on a bro’s night. Our older brother just finished his drink so he went to the bar to grab another," Boomer said, sharing a grin with Butch.

Bubbles couldn't help but mentally curse at that. If she was single she might think it was fate but right now she just found it annoying. Of course there would be another one.

"That's awfully convenient. Three of us and three of you," Buttercup purred out at Butch. He gave her a wild grin.

"That it is firecracker. Know what's also convenient? My favorite song just came on."

Buttercup didn't even let him finish before getting up and dragging him off to the dance floor. Bubbles couldn't help but glare at her.

"Well, guess that just leaves us then sweetheart."

She mentally groaned and begged Blossom to hurry up.

* * *

She grit her teeth. This, this stubborn, no good, brain dead, tiny man would not shut up and leave her alone. She'd been as obvious as she could. No smiles, short responses, physically turning away from him, said no times plenty of times at this point. Like, actually, straight up said no! Not interested! He just wouldn't just go away!

"Your eyes really are gorgeous, like gems."

She wondered if he even knew what color they were. He hadn't stopped staring at her ass this entire time. She didn't even bother to respond this time and tried to find the bartender that was remaking her drink. Again. How could someone spill three drinks in a row?! She didn't care if he was new, she just wanted to leave. Now.

"You're gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful." He moved closer to her as he said this to whisper in her ear. There was a clear slur to his words that meant he had definitely had one too many at this point. "Look even better without the dress. In my bed." She felt as his hand brushed against her side, quickly traveling south.

That was it! One thing to be an annoying loud mouthed prick, another thing to touch her without her permission!

She was about to break his wrist only to find he was being pushed away from her as an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into another chest.

"She's pretty obviously not interested so why don't you fuck off?"

Blossom knew that voice. Although, she wasn't used to hearing it all angry and growly like that. She also wasn't used to hearing it that close. She had to stop the shiver that she felt wanting to run down her spine at it.

"What the hell asshole? I was here first. Find another girl," the other guy said as he spun back to face them. She felt Brick tense behind her and she couldn't help but lay her hand on his arm that was around her waist. She might not have seen it but she'd heard rumors of the Jojo brothers’ tempers. The last thing she needed was to get caught up in the middle of a bar fight.

"Doesn't matter who the fuck was here first, she's not interested in you."

"And you think she'd be interested in a fucker like you?'

"Well seeing as I actually know her, yeah. Probably. Doesn't matter as I'm not about to force her to deal with me if she doesn't want to." Blossom barely managed not to roll her eyes at that. Granted, Brick was much better company than a sleaze bag like the guy in front of her. Not that she’d admit that to him. Ever. He was annoying enough as it was.

"Like hell you know her! You've been standing there for the past 5 minutes and haven't said shit to her!"

Blossom felt her brow furrow and she turned her head to look at Brick. "You've been at the bar that long?"

He looked down at her and smirked that stupid smirk at her. "Yeah, bartender dropped my drink."

She couldn't help the small smile at that and turned to face the other guy. He was red in the face at this point.

"I know him. We work together," Blossom said glaring at the man. He snorted and took a step towards them.

"I don't fucking believe you. If you aren't gunna listen to reason then maybe we should handle this another way," he said to Brick, his fights clenching as he raised them slightly. This wouldn’t end well. She really really didn’t want to end up in the middle of a bar fight tonight. Blossom felt herself tense and Brick rubbed his thumb over her stomach where his hand lay.

"I'm not about to fight you, or anyone. We literally know each other. What do you need beyond that? Proof?"

No fight? That was a relief. Although, it went against most of the rumors she’d heard. Then again, if Brick wanted to be a lawyer he probably didn’t want to chance having an assault charge on his record. So where had the rumor come from then?

"Well clearly you’re set on this dumb lie so yeah, guess I do need that."

She could feel Brick growling behind her. Maybe he spoke too early and she relaxed too soon. He sounded like an angry dog. This was not looking good. They didn't have anything that would prove things other than their school schedules or the name of where they worked and she sure as hell wasn't giving this guy any of that information. Still, they didn't have any photos or anything that they could use.

A second later and she felt Brick sigh behind her. She looked back at him to see he was looking out across the club at something. She would have thought he was trying to just think things through if it weren't for the look on his face. She'd seen that look before. Usually before they settled in to do ground work that neither of them particularly wanted to do but knew they had to anyways. He gestured with his chin at the man in front of them before turning back to face him himself.

"Look man. I really think you need to just walk away alright?" Brick said.

"Fuck that. Let's settle this the way-"

"Is there a problem here sir?" A very muscular man in black said as he popped up behind the guy. Blossom startled slightly as the annoying guy spun around to face the bouncer.

"Yes actually. This man here was bothering the lady and attempted to start a fight with me when I emphasized to him that she isn’t interested. I think he needs to be removed from the premises," Brick said as he let his arm drop from around Blossom. He didn’t take a step back though and Blossom was thankful for that. Not that she couldn't handle herself but fighting off a man in heels wouldn’t have been ideal.

The bouncer nodded before looking at Blossom. "Would you like us to remove him from the premises?" He asked her. She nodded and the bouncer grabbed one of the man's arms. "Alright sir, if you could please-"

"Like fucking hell I'm about to just leave. I'm a paying fucking customer! A regular. You shits don't get a paycheck without people like me!"

The bouncer grimaced and Blossom could see he was trying not visible sigh.

"Sorry sir but I believe you've had enough for the night. If you won’t follow me then-"

"Fuck this shit!" The man said as he tore his arm away from the bouncer. He pointed at Blossom. "You're a stuck up bitch I hope you know," pointed at Brick, "you're an ass," pointed at the bouncer, "and you're just a piece of shit. See if I ever come back here!"

And with that the man stormed off. Another bouncer was quick to follow, making sure that the man did leave. The first bouncer turned back to Blossom and Brick.

"My apologies. Well make sure he’s put on the black list from now on. Enjoy the rest of your night ma'am. Sir."

He nodded to Brick, almost like a bow, before turning and leaving. Finally, Brick took a step away from Blossom and she turned to face him. He was glaring after where the man had stormed off but was quick to turn and give her that infernal smirk.

"Hello babe."

"Hello Brick. Thank you but I hope you know I had it perfectly under control."

Brick snorted as he turned back to the bar. Neither of their drinks were there still and she had to wonder what his bartender was doing at this point.

"Oh I don’t doubt it and as amazing as it would have been to see you put the man in his place I figured it’d be best to just try and get him to leave."

She glared at him. "As long as you know."

His smirk changed, just ever so slightly but she wasn’t able to pick out what exactly about it was so different. "Don’t worry. I do." The bartender finally placed the drinks down, apologizing profusely. Both red heads waved him off and Brick turned back to Blossom. "Now, I believe my brothers may have found your sisters sooo..."

Her shoulders dropped. Of course they had. Of. Course.

* * *

Oh she really wished Blossom would hurry back. As nice as Boomer seemed to be he kept giving her those looks and smiles and she knew what they meant! And he knew she had a boyfriend too! She glared across the dance floor at Buttercup. At least someone was having fun.

Although, if those two kept this up they’d probably end up kicked out of the club for indecency. She blushed and looked away. The man next to her chuckled and she glanced at him to see he had seen their siblings as well.

"I swear Butch does actually know how to treat women properly. He doesn’t usually try to dry hump them on the second meeting." His smile way a wicked thing that sent a thrill through her that she refused to acknowledge. Bad boy types were Buttercup's thing! Why was she reacting this way?!

"It’s fine," Bubbles replied curtly. "Buttercup has no problems dragging him off to a corner if that's what she wants. And from the looks of it, I doubt she’ll let him stay on the dance floor for much longer." Although, Blossom wouldn’t be too happy about that. Sister’s night and all. Plus, it was starting to get close to the time they usually left for home.

Boomer chuckled at that. "Well then, I guess I don’t have much to apologize for."

She shrugged. "I appreciate the reassurance though. It's good to know he won’t try to take advantage. Not that he could with Buttercup."

"She definitely seems like the type that wouldn’t let that happen."

Understatement of the year. Their first year at college a guy in the study group Buttercup had been in got a little handsy in his flirting. She broke his wrist in like, three places. No one dared to try again.

"So what about you?"

She gave him a look. "What about me what?"

"How do you prefer men treat you?"

She glared at him and he had the gall to smirk back.

"I know you know I have a boyfriend."

"I do but sweetheart, from what I say the emphasis was definitely on the boy and something tells me you deserve a little more than that."

"That's awfully presumptuous of you! I doubt you've ever even talked to him so how could you even begin to know what kind of man he is. And I'll have you know he treats me wonderfully. I definitely don’t need someone else to try and prove they can do better."

He shrugged and she saw his hand twitch but he otherwise didn’t move. She was surprised a bit by that. She'd kind of expected him to move more into her space but he hadn't. In fact, other than the looks and comments he'd been very respectful about her space and person. He'd even ordered her next drink the way he'd ask to but had asked her what she wanted instead of presuming.

"I've seen you around, both with and without him, and somehow I think you could do much better. He doesn't seem to understand what a treasure he has."

"Oh but you’d understand is it?" She finally snapped back feeling defensive. She was getting close to being completely done at this point. He heard the tone and raised his hands up in a sign of defense.

"Sorry. I've pushed too hard and clearly overstepped. I'll just say that I don’t know but I know I'd try to treat you better. Try to show you more of what you deserve. Anyways," he continued before she could comment, "it looks like our eldest siblings have conquered the bar finally. Yo Brick, who's the beauty?"

He threw in an eyebrow wiggle that was exaggerated enough to show he wasn’t actually flirting. The red headed man, Brick, sighed as he punched the bridge of his nose. Blossom gave Boomer a look that had him snickering before sitting down next to Bubbles. Unfortunately not on the side Boomer was on.

"Really Boom. Can you not?"

"Sorry big bro but I was raised not to lie."

Brick gave him a look while Blossom shook her head. She reached around Bubbles and held out her hand.

"Blossom Utonium. Brick and I intern together. It’s nice to meet another of the infamous brothers."

Boomer was half frozen as he shook Blossom's hand. Bubbles saw him shoot Brick a quick glance before seeming to recover. She wasn’t sure what that was about but filled it away anyways. She knew they her and her sisters were well-known but something about that look…

"I didn’t realize we were in the presence of the famous Utonium sisters. I've heard a lot about you. Actually, I think everyone's heard a lot about you three."

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize the names. Bubbles and Buttercup aren’t common ones after all."

Boomer nervously scratched at the back of his neck and shot another glance at Brick who responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Honestly, we’ve been trying to stay out of trouble on campus so Butch and I are a little out of touch. I've also had a few to drink?"

Blossom raised an eyebrow at that while Brick snorted.

"What he means is Boomer tends to not the quickest on the uptake, especially after a couple beers."

"Dude, really?" Boomer whined at his brother who snickered in response. Clearly Bubbles wasn’t the only one who was treated like the baby sibling they were.

"Anyways, speaking of Buttercup, where is she?"

Bubbles made a noise at the back of her throat before busying herself with her drink. Blossom gave her a look.

"Bubbles. Where is Buttercup?"

A quick glance at the dance floor proved what she’d suspected. Buttercup had decided enough was enough and she wanted more than just dancing. So really, Bubbles didn’t know where her middle sister was. Honestly, she could be anywhere from the bathroom to a very dark corner. Heck, she could also be halfway back to the guy’s place.

"Weeeeeell," Bubbles said with a wince. Brick looked to Boomer, eyebrow cocked in question. Boomer shrugged.

"You know him. Butch isn’t one to say no to a feisty woman. Especially if she’s gorgeous and, well, the Utonium sisters are gorgeous." He wiggled his eyebrows at Bubbles and Blossom again. Bubbles swore she saw more heat in his eyes when they were on her and not her sister. She was thankful he'd backed off mostly at least though. A little confused, but thankful.

"No. I am not getting thrown out of another bar because she couldn't keep her pants on. Especially since it’s girl's night! I also specifically told her not to do this!"

"Those pants were pretty tight too. I thought she’d been joking early about finding a guy. I'm not sure what she was planning dressed the way she is. Usually she’d wear a dress or skirt if she was actually looking," Bubbles added as Blossom pulled out her phone to call Buttercup.

"She was making all those comments at the other clubs and, well, let’s be real, she’s horrible at thinking ahead and has no impulse control what-so-ever."

Brick snorted at that. "Sounds as bad as Butch. I'll give him a ring too."

"Please. We’ll probably end up leaving after I finish this drink. I can’t believe it took almost 45 minutes to get this thing!"

Boomer raised an eyebrow. "Before closing?"

Bubbles shrugged. "We like to leave a little early to avoid the rush. This is our usual bail out time."

"Ugh! She’s not picking up. I hope she knows I plan to keep calling her until she does."

"Bloss, I'm sure she'd expect nothing less from you."

* * *

They were vicious with each other in a way that few people could enjoy. Lips bruised, breathing harsh, nipping bites along her neck, bruises already forming where he gripped her hips, nail marking biting into his neck and shoulders. She couldn't help the groan into his mouth as he rolled his hips into hers, his arousal obvious. She pulled back slightly to breath and he didn’t hesitate to add to the marks he’d already made along her neck.

"God, please. Fuck," She moaned out as she moved her hand to tug at his hair. He gave out a short growl at that before lifting his head to attack her lips again. She met his fervor with her own, giving as good as she took.

"Shit, you-" he huffed a he pulled back, pushing his pelvis into hers and forcing her back harder against the wall. She tightened her grip around his hips with her legs in response. "God I want you right now."

She gave him a smile that she knew was all teeth. "Then what's stopping you?"

He sucked a breath through his teeth as she trailed her fingers down his chest until they reached the top of his pants. She teasingly allowed her fingers to dip just past them before trailing her hand back up.

He cursed again before diving back in to nip at her bottom lip. She groaned in response and pulled him closer into her. One of his hands slid up to grab at her ass and she moaned against him, rolling her hips into his this time. The groan he let out was everything she wanted but she needed more.

"Hurry up," she hissed at him and he gave a strangled sounding chuckle in response.

"Firecracker, you might just be the death of me tonight."

"If I have my way any time soon? Yeah, maybe. It ain’t called La Petite Mort for nothing."

He leaned forward teasingly, pulling back just barely anytime she tried to pull him in for a kiss. She huffed in frustration as he grinned down at her.

"If I'm going down, I'll need to make sure I bring you with me now won’t I?"

Before she could respond, Butch startled slightly as if shocked. He blinked as he pulled his hand off her ass and reached into his back pocket to pull out his phone. He let out a whimpering groan when he saw who was calling, head falling back in defeat. She made a face at him.

"You can’t seriously be thinking of answering that right now?"

"Sorry, it's my big bro. If I don’t answer he'll track me down and while normally I wouldn’t really care, I think I'd actually like to avoid you seeing him bite my head off."

She sighed as he set her down and answered the phone. She figured she should probably check her own while he was at it.

"Hey. What's up?" Butch asked. She couldn't really make out what the other person was saying so she looked at her own phone.

And winced. She already had three missed calls, all from Blossom. That wasn’t going to go well.

"Yeah she’s here. She’s looking at her phone now."

She grimaced at him and dialed Blossom.

"I think she's calling her now so we'll probably be heading back."

Blossom picked up.

"What have I always said Buttercup?!"

"No silence in the clubs," she said at the same time as her sister, sighing. "Yeah, yeah Bloss. Sorry. I got a little...carried away."

Butch sent her a devilish smirk at that and she was tempted to pull him down for another kiss. Blossom might not have been there but she knew her sister. She’d know somehow and wouldn’t have appreciated it. Buttercup figured she'd pissed her elder sister off enough for one night.

"So I'm guessing you didn’t notice what time it was either then? Because it's already after midnight Buttercup. If we want to beat the rush we need to go."

She groaned. Right, the rush. She hated the closing time rush. Too many people all way too close and it was impossible to grab a ride home from anywhere. She’d known they wouldn’t be at this club for long before bailing but hadn’t realized how late it actually had gotten. If it was already that late then it was time to bail. Even if she did just want to ignore it.

"Can I just-"

"No. You can’t just. We," the heavy emphasis there was clear, "are going home. Get back here now."

Blossom hung up without waiting for a response. Buttercup groaned before sliding her phone away and looking up at Butch. He raised an eyebrow in question and she couldn't help but bite her lip.

God, those eyebrow piercings of his.

"That was my sister. She wants to bail. Fuck me."

"I'd love to," he murmured into her ear as he dragged a hand along her hip. She placed an open mouth kiss or two against his jaw and felt more than heard his groan.

"Unfortunately not going to happen," she said before finally pulling away. He straight up pouted at her and she knew the look she sent him was very much not amused.

"Maybe another time then?" He asked. She thought about it before grinning up at him wildly.

"Maybe. But seeing as how someone didn’t ask for my number first I think that'll be a little tricky."

"Shit. Can I-"

"It was great meeting you. Wonderful time. See you again, maybe."

She saw his jaw drop before she spun and quickly walked off. She’d figured he probably needed another second or two before he could follow her, she’d done a number on him after all and those had been somewhat tight pants, so she reached the table well before him. Both her sisters gave her looks when they saw the state of her neck.

"Alright. Let's blow this popsicle stand. Come on," Buttercup said encouraging her sisters to get up. The two men at the table raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is Butch-"

"I'm sure your brother is on his way. Tell him it was fun and good luck. Though, if he has half a brain, he’ll figure out he doesn’t need it." She still had to pick her car up after all.

Her sisters grumbled slightly at being rushed but didn’t complain. Bubbles said a polite good bye and Blossom did the same to Boomer before turning to Brick. He raised his glass in her direction, a smirk on his face.

"See ya Monday Blossom."

She sighed through her nose and gave him a look. "Right. Bye Brick."

And then they were on their way out, none of them looking back.

* * *

"Shit. Are they-"

"Already long gone bro. Buttercup said it was fun and good luck. Also something about if you have half a brain you won’t need it but we all know that ain’t the case," Brick said as he finished off his drink. Butch groaned before plopping in a chair.

"Asshole. Also, fuck. She's evil. Amazingly sexy but evil. Damn it."

Boomer snickered. "Alright, now I'm curious. What'd she do?"

"Only just about blew my mind with one of the most amazing make-out sessions ever and then run off without giving me her number. I had to take a second to make sure I didn’t walk out of there with the most obvious boner of my life and she knew it too. Swear she took off because of it."

"You're boner chased her off?" Brick said, clearly highly amused. Butch glared at him.

"No. She saw a chance to one up me and took it. I was stuck which gave her time to slip away."

"So the mind blowing wasn’t both ways then. Damn bro, gotta up your game," Boomer said. He quickly had to get up and move away as Butch swiped at him.

"Dick. My game is 5 star quality."

"Out of ten? Ouch man," Brick said laughing. Butch glared.

"Oh ha ha. Laugh it up dipshits. Not like either of you got any tonight."

Brick shrugged. "Wasn’t really looking so I think I'll live."

"Angel there wasn't up for my moves although it took a second for me to catch on. I backed off out of respect. She is actually taken after all."

"Whatever. You're both still going home alone. At least I got some action."

Brick shook his head. "Only to be left high, dry, and one upped. I think I'd rather be in my shoes."

"Fuck you."

“Still, the Utonium sisters? Brick you didn’t tell us you were working with one of them!” Boomer said with a glare. Butch gave his brother a confused look while Brick just shrugged.

“Didn’t really think it was a big deal.”

“Wait. Utonium? As in-”

“Yes. That Utonium Butch. You were just sucking face with the middle Utonium sister,” Boomer said with a roll of his eyes. Butch made a face.

“Huh. Don’t know how to feel about that now.”

“No different than before Butch. Look, just because they’re the Utonium sisters doesn’t mean they aren’t any different than any other girl to us,” Brick said as he stood and stretched.

“Dude! The Utonium sisters though! Their dad-”

“Isn’t them,” Brick said, cutting Boomer off. “The real issue here would be if we did treat them differently. Remember what we promised.”

Both Boomer and Butch made a face at that.

“Yeah, I remember. Still though. I feel like a slime ball now after the way I was treating Bubbles.”

“Boomer, that’s because you were acting like a slime ball. Look, now that Butch is here we really should head out. I don’t want to get stuck in traffic for an hour.”

Butch shrugged and stood. “Fair enough. Still, any chance you can get me Buttercup’s number? Ask her sister maybe? Huh? Do a bro a solid?”

Brick gave his brother a look. “Dude, you screwed that one up all on your own. Clean up your own mess.”

Butch glared as the three brothers made their way to the door. “Dick.”

* * *

"You're going to have a nightmare of a time covering those all tomorrow you know. You might actually even give dad a heart attack this time. There’s a lot," Blossom said as they finally walked into their house. Buttercup shrugged.

"Eh. I'll manage. I'm sure I still have some cover up somewhere. Gotta say I’m a bit upset that I had to leave actually. Guy clearly knew what he was doing."

"You're not borrowing any of my shirts for cover up. Or any of my make-up! Not after you ditched me like that!" Bubbles huffed as they made their way up to their rooms.

"Whatever Bubs. He was harmless. I knew he wouldn’t make a move unless you wanted him too."

"Oh like you could judge that! You’re horrible at reading people and for your information, he very much still made moves! Just because he wasn’t sucking my face off doesn't mean I was okay. I'm dating someone and he knew too! I didn’t want the flirt near me and you still walked off even knowing I was not okay with. And don’t say you didn’t know because I know you did!"

“Oh come off it! You were eye fucking him back. Clearly someone isn’t getting enough.”

"Girls! Let's try not to wake dad up, please! Honestly," Blossom said with a huff as they reached their rooms. She turned and glared at her sisters. "Buttercup, it wasn’t okay to ditch Bubbles like that when she didn’t give you the okay to do so. Bubbles, did you ask him to stop or actually say no and if so did he?"

"Ugh! Whatever. I'm going to bed," Buttercup said before going into her room with a huff. Bubbles sighed and tugged at her hair.

"I mean I made it clear I was uncomfortable-"

"While it may have been clear to you or me how do you know it was to him? Unless you say something people aren’t always going to know. Not everyone is blessed with your people skilled and you and I both know there are girls out there who have no problem with cheating on their boyfriend. If you don’t clearly say no and he doesn’t know you, how can he tell you aren’t maybe enjoying it? Clear communication is the only way to avoid confusion."

Bubbles pouted. "I knooow I just-"

"Need to speak up."

"Fine. Next time I'll be clearer."

Blossom raised an eyebrow. "Next time? Are you planning on seeing him again or are you referring to the next time a random guy hits on you?"

Bubbles stopped for a second before her face bloomed into a blush. "I don't- I wasn’t- ugh! Good night!"

Blossom chuckled as her sister ran away to hide in her room. Still, how odd for all three Jojo brothers to have been at the same bar as them. If Bubbles had been single she almost would have thought it was a fateful night.

She realized a second after thinking it that that mental pairing put her with Brick. She made a face before heading into her own room. Ew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, so I do also plan to post a chapter for #3 tonight as well so if you follow that as well go check it out! With what I need to write I'm going to need to go back onto my break now though. This time it'll be a proper content break though and I will actually be writing what I need to. I should be back late January to early February with another chapter. See you all then! Ciao!


	3. Finding Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I haven't done everything I needed to for this story though! T.T  
> Still, this chapter is ready to go so I thought I'd post it anyways. I was able to get where I needed to for my main story, The #3, so I'll be writing a ton for this story now. Hopefully I can get enough for a decent release schedule for the semester but no promises.  
> Thank you everyone for the follows, kudos, and comments! I love how many of you are already interested in the story! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

“Fuuuuck,” Mitch groaned weakly between pants from where he lay on the ground. “Can’t you, like just once, give a guy a break?”

Buttercup snickered down at him, breathing slightly hard but nowhere near as hard as Mitch was. “Nah. Be no fun.”

“Ha. For you maybe. Keep this up and you’ll be losing a sparing buddy though.”

Buttercup snorted at that. “Doubt it. You dropped karate last month. I know you’re too much of a cheapskate to chance losing what you learned to stop sparing with me.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Still wish I hadn’t needed to do that but food first, right?”

Buttercup held out a hand as Mitch sat up to help him stand. He clasped her outstretched hand and jumped up with her help.

“Still say you could have found a way to make it work but not like I would know.”

Mitch rolled his eyes at her. “Seriously. Little miss princess over here.”

“Gross. You did not just call me a princess. Do it again and I’ll bring you an actual Princess here just to prove you wrong.”

Mitch groaned as he turned away at that to go grab his water. “Please don’t. I really don’t know how to handle that girl.”

Buttercup shrugged as she made her way over to him to grab her own water. “Don’t get why. She seems like she’s just your type.”

Mitch took a second to gulp down some water before responding. “She’s from money and it’s pretty damn clear she likes to be spoiled with expensive things. A girl like her is just gunna end up draining whatever little extra money I have. Which isn’t a lot. And what do you mean she’s my type? You don’t even know what my type is!”

Buttercup finished gulping some water down herself before snorting at that. “I mean I think I have a pretty good idea. Good looking, shallow, self-centered, vapid-”

Mitch shoved Buttercup as she broke off laughing. “Bitch. You make me sound like all I want is a pretty face.”

“Am I wrong? Not like you’re looking to settle or anything. Pretty face is all you need for a lay.”

“I mean, maybe I’d like her to know a thing or two but guess I can’t argue with the logic. Still, I’m trying to save right now and a girl ain’t gunna help with that. You know I just poured all that money into that one idea.”

“The café idea, right? Yeah, I remember. Been up and running for a little bit now. How’s it going?”

Mitch shrugged. “Not bad, I guess. We’re really only just now picking up steam. The guy I opened it with really has some great ideas. We’ve started thinking of hiring someone else, mostly for the late-night shifts. An actual bar tender would be great. While the guy can make a mean cocktail…he’s about the only one who can. It causes a back-up on orders sometimes.”

“Well daaaang, look at you go. Killing it in the small biz world. Had anyone in mind for the late-night shift?”

“Maybe. My partner said he has someone in mind at least. As long as it isn’t one of his brothers, I’m sure I’ll have no issues.”

“I haven’t met this guy yet, have I? Are his brothers trouble or something?”

Mitch kind of moved his head from side to side slowly in a sort-of kind of motion. “I mean, they have a bad rep, but they aren’t bad once you get to know them. The trouble is once you do get to know them that you can’t un-know them. Swear they’re always popping up where I least expect them.”

Buttercup raised an eyebrow. “Like in a stalker kind of way or a, they just always seem to be where you are kind of way?”

“They just always seem to be where I am. I mean, I like the guys, but they like to party. Ran into the middle one after shopping late one day and ended up getting convinced into heading out to the bars. He then managed to get me black out drunk which was bad for the wallet. He didn’t bail though. Woke up on the floor of the flat. They’re the kinda guys that find trouble, but they won’t ditch you in a bad spot after finding it.”

“Sound like a cool bunch. I’ll have to swing by sometime and meet the one you’re partnered with at least.”

“You should. I feel like you’d really get on with them. The middle one I mentioned might even be your type too.” Mitch waggled his eyebrows at her as he said that.

Buttercup flipped him off. “Like you’d know my type.”

“Let’s see, good looking, shallow, self-centered-”

Buttercup shoved his as they both laughed. “Whatever dick. Come on. We got time for one more round before I have to clean up for class.”

Mitch smiled as they turned back to the sparring mat. “Bring it on. I’ll so get you this time.”

Buttercup smiled back. “In your dreams café boy.”

* * *

“Cabel, what do you think about this one?” Bubbles asked as she leaned closer to show him her phone. Cabel brought his attention away from the courtyard to look down at her phone. He frowned at what she showed him.

“I dunno Bubs. It’s a little pricey and I feel like you’d never wear it.”

Bubbles pouted at that. The money wasn’t an issue, it’s not like she had bills to pay, but she’d been dying to go on a fancy date for weeks now and Cabel kept missing the hint. This dress had been her most recent attempt.

“I guess. We could always find somewhere for me to wear it to though.”

Cabel leaned back against the bench as he thought on that. “Where though? It’s too nice for a concert or the movies.”

Bubbles sighed softly at yet another failed attempt. As much as she really liked her boyfriend, he really wasn’t as much of a romantic as she was.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Maybe I’ll look for something simpler then.”

“Sounds like a good idea sweet stuff.”

Ugh, she’d asked him not to call her that. He always seemed to forget though. She’d remind him again when they weren’t in quite as public a place.

“If I did find something though, what do you say we find an excuse for me to wear it? I heard that there’s a local band in the area that all the kids have been loving listening too lately. We can have a night out and go see them maybe?” Bubbles asked as she rested her head on Cabel’s shoulder before continuing to scroll through the website she was on.

Her dad had just given them an extra, ‘I’m sorry to leave you’ gift and Bubbles was itching to spend it. She’d already ordered a ton of new fabric for her upcoming outfits. All that was left was to find herself a little treat.

Cabel shrugged. “Sounds good to me. Heard they’ve only been really playing at that one place though. Ruff Tides was it? And I thought you ended up not liking that place.”

Bubbles tensed slightly at the name of the dreaded coffee shop. Mostly, it was the reminder of the blue-eyed man that worked said shop that had her tensing.

“I hadn’t heard that. Never mind then. Maybe we should just wait until the next concert comes through. Someone has to be coming to the area on a tour soon, right?” Bubbles quickly said. She’d look into concerts later tonight just to see.

“I dunno sweet stuff. Why do you hate that place anyways? It sure wasn’t the tea. You couldn’t get enough of the stuff. And it was dog friendly which I know you’re all about.”

Bubbles shrugged, being careful not to look up at Cabel. She didn’t need him getting jealous over nothing. He was always so difficult when he got jealous.

“It just had bad mojo or something. Does it really matter? I don’t want to go there so we’ll find something else to do.”

Cabel was quiet and Bubbles could feel him looking at her. She didn’t look up though, continuing to scroll through her phone looking for her treat.

Eventually, with a sigh, he gave up. “Fine. I’ll take a look tonight and see what’s coming up. Maybe that local band’ll play somewhere else soon. It would be nice to have a night out with you soon. I feel like we haven’t had one in a while.”

He sounded so upset that Bubbles couldn’t help but look up from her phone at him. Cabel was obviously pouting down at her and Bubbles felt a small smile creep onto her face at how cute he looked.

“Awww, I’m sorry. Between class and that outfit I was working on I’ve been so tired. Tests are over thought so we definitely have to do something since we couldn’t last weekend.”

“I mean, you could have invited me too. Sounds like Buttercup made it into a normal night out and not a sister’s night out.”

Bubbles giggled. “Silly, Buttercup was actually super well-behaved that night. If I’d invited you along we would have lost her at the first bar instead of only almost losing her at the last one. Plus, Blossom would have been on her own if I did that.”

Cabel sighed at that before giving Bubbles a quick peck on the forehead. “My little sweet stuff, you can’t help but think of others, can you? Maybe it would be a good thing to leave Blossom on her own for a night out. Seems like she’s having a hard time getting over that last guy. What was his name again? Alex or something?”

Bubbles felt her face twist at the reminder of another unpleasant man. “Alexi. To be honest, I think she still needs some more time. The way he treated her was so not nice.”

As in, he treated her like she meant something then dumped her like a bag of bricks in the middle of the ocean when his semester was over. Her oldest sister had serious bad luck when it came to men. All the ones she ended up involved with always left her so lonely when they moved on. And her sister was an amazing catch. Why would they even think of moving on anyways?!

…Okay. Blossom did maybe, just possibly, have very high expectation from people around her. It wasn’t entirely her fault though, and she listened when you put your foot down too. She just knew she deserved someone on her level and all of the guys she’d been with had just…fallen way short.

“I dunno. I always think the best way to get over an ex is to get back out there. Could help.”

Bubbles did not agree. Especially where her sister was concerned. “Trust me, Blossom isn’t ready. When she is though, she won’t need help.”

Cabel thought on that before nodding. “Fair. Guys do tend to trip over themselves around her. I’m sure finding someone wouldn’t be too hard.”

Not too hard at all. That was probably the problem. Blossom tended to give the men who seemed most put together a chance before really testing to see if they were so put together. Then time would do its magic and poof! They all turned out to be overconfident, usually arrogant, players who knew what to say at the right time to get a girl.

Bubbles sighed before turning back to her phone. “Well, hopefully the next one won’t be a mess. She deserves only the best after all.”

And she deserved her treat. Now, which one to choose?

* * *

“Bro please. Ask the red head for me,” Butch whined from where he lay on the sofa. Brick rolled his eyes.

“Hell no. You should have gotten her number before leading her to a dark corner. Manners Butch. I know you were taught them,” Brick said as he left the living room for Butch’s bedroom. “Also, I’m borrowing a sweatshirt.”

“Not unless you get the phone number you ain’t,” Butch said as he jumped up and followed Brick.

“Come on. Mine are all in the wash and Boom’s smell like coffee. I need a sweatshirt today too.”

“What for? You don’t get cold. Like ever.”

Brick rolled his eyes again. “Cause Bellum has Blossom and I running a few errands around town. One of the places she has us going is just over on Cedar.”

“Well shit. Is the Utonium chick going with you? Cause damn she shouldn’t.”

Brick snorted. “Oh, I know but trying to tell Blossom she shouldn’t do something always backfires. I’m better off just leaving her alone about it and she’s probably protected anyways. Doesn’t mean I can’t do anything though.”

“True. Take the black hoodie at the back of the closet. It’s my favorite but it’s old and a cheap brand. A little loose on me too so it’ll drown you. Perfect for not looking expensive but makin’ them guess what you’ve got underneath the thing.”

Brick nodded and went to pull the sweatshirt Butch was talking about out of the closet. He held it out for a second before bringing it close and taking a whiff.

“Dude! I just washed the thing. No need to do a fucking sniff check,” Butch said with a glare. Brick raised an eyebrow.

“I mean, can you blame me? You do laundry the least out of the three of us.”

“You make it sound like you’re a ton better than I am. The only one in this apartment who’s clean is Boom. Ain’t that why you have no jackets of your own to wear?”

Brick grunted in respond and Butch grinned back, happy to have won the argument.

“Still not helping you get her number. Sort that one out yourself.”

“Aw for fuck-seriously?! Come on man! Throw a guy a bone!”

“With what she said before she took off, Buttercup already threw you one. You just don’t know how to find it. Anyways, you working tonight? It’s my turn to cook and I wanna know how much to make.”

“Yeah I…well shit. She did throw me a bone. Pretty sure her car is still in the shop.”

Brick turned and cocked an eyebrow. “So, you already have a way to contact her.”

“I mean yeah but ain’t that weird? Feels kinda stalker like to get her number from work and call her that way.”

Brick thought on it for a second before making a face. “Yeah, kinda is. Hold off on that for sure. But talk to the guys. Let them know you wanna be the one to call her and let her know the thing is ready for pick-up.”

“Not a bad idea. I’ll do that. I can even make sure I’m at the shop when she comes to pick it up that way.” 

“Yeah well, don’t get arrested for being a creep. Especially for being a creep to a Utonium.”

“Thought you said to treat them like any other girl.”

“Yeah, long as it ain’t gunna get you in trouble. We don’t need that kinda trouble coming our way.”

“When have I ever brought any sort of trouble our way?” Brick turned and gave him a hard look at that. “Yeah okay. That was a dumb thing to say.”

“I’m glad you realize that. Stay out of trouble with her Butch. I mean it. Dad’ll hunt you down himself if you don’t.”

“Ugh, don’t mention dad to me. We’re due for a meeting with banana breath ain’t we?”

“Yeah, we were supposed to meet at the end of the week. Dad canceled though. Don’t know why.”

“Hope it ain’t trouble.”

Brick scoffed. “This is dad we’re talking about here. Where do you think those troublemaker genes of ours came from? Sure ain’t mom.”

Butch snorted. “Wouldn’t be too sure bout that one. Heard mom’s been kickin’ up a hell of a shit storm lately.”

“Long as it stays away from us, I don’t care. Anyways, dinner tonight or not?”

“Nah, I’m closing. I’ll have something delivered to me mid-shift.”

“Boom doesn’t have anything this afternoon. You should see if he’d be willing to bring you something. Save some money on the delivery charge.”

“Like a buck or two maybe. His car has shit mileage, and you know it.”

“All our cars do. We’re lucky to each have a car though so not like we can complain. Anyways, stay safe. See ya later bro.”

“Smell ya later gater.”

Brick rolled his eyes as he slipped on his shoes, grabbed his keys, and made for the front door. Before slipping out he turned and gave Butch one last look.

“No trouble.”

“Yeah, yeah. Getting as bad as dad there bro.”

Brick glared before flipping him off and slipping out the front door.

* * *

"So Butch finally figured it out but I’m worried Buttercup might kill him if he tries it," Brick said. Blossom couldn't help the sigh. She'd been hoping they could have gone the day without doing this but apparently not.

"That's not really my problem. Take it up with Buttercup."

"I mean, I'm sure he’d love to but him contacting her is kinda the problem."

"If you’re talking about the fact that her number is on file at the car shop then don’t worry. That was her out for him. If he calls her, she isn’t going to go running to the cops about it. Promise."

"That’s an honest relief. Seriously worried I might have had to bail my bro out if she freaked on him."

She rolled her eyes before turning slightly to glare at him. He was lounging in the seat, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on his knee. He must have felt her eyes on him as he chanced a quick glance before turning back to looking at the road with a smirk on his face.

"Buttercup isn’t like that. She made it clear that, if he was smart enough to figure out how, that Butch could contact her. She doesn’t play games about consent. A yes is a yes and a go ahead means, go right ahead. Now can we please not talk about my sister and your brother? It’s the last thing I want on my mind."

"Oh come on babe. I was just trying to make some idle conversation. I've been nothing other than on my best behavior."

She supposed she couldn't deny it. He hadn't really made any comments and she supposed that what he’d said had been more along the lines of conversational than anything else.

"Now, if I wasn’t being a good boy, I'd definitely have commented of how that dress made you look-"

"I really don’t think that's a work appropriate line of conversation."

God, she hated that smirk. He chuckled.

"Just making a point."

She huffed as she turned away to look out the window. They were nearly there, and she couldn't wait to get out of the car. Trust Ms. Bellum to unintentionally put her in a position like this. She swore that the woman was set on getting Blossom and Brick together. In fact, she knew that's what the lawyer's intentions were. She'd pretty said as much the first week they'd been there! The woman had even included a planned lunch break at a place not far away. The whole day was a step away from being a date!

"Alright, this should be the place," Brick said as he parked the car on the side of the road. She looked out and couldn't help the grimace. It wasn’t a very nice part of town and it showed. Honestly, she'd been surprised that Brick seemed to know his way around so well.

"Just that building there right?" Blossom asked as she opened the car door and stepped out. Brick was very quick to follow.

"Yes but Blossom I think maybe you should-"

"I am not staying in the car Brick. Come on. Let's get the documents and get back."

She took off for the building and heard Brick sigh behind her as he followed. He quickly caught up and made sure to walk literally right at her side. She glared up at him.

"Brick, you're in my bubble."

"Tough. If you aren’t going to stay in the car then I'm literally going to be stuck to your side. This is a really bad part of town. You're just going to have to deal with it."

"I told you before, I can handle myself thank you."

"Yeah and I told you that I don’t doubt it. The problem is that the people in this part of town aren’t the kind to deal with. They're the kind to avoid and a pretty thing like you attracts a lot of attention so let me just do what I can to keep it off of you. Please."

He sounded so earnest that Blossom faltered. The look in his eyes was downright pleading too. She glanced around and didn’t see anyone but she knew that didn’t mean much. The gang in this area was known for its vigilance after all. As one would expect from a gang name Hell's Creatures.

"Fine. Let's just...hurry and get this over with."

He nodded in agreement and placed his hand gently on the small of her back. She sighed through her nose but didn’t say anything. She knew there’d be no point.

They quickly walked into the small building and approached the man at the desk. He looked up at them, honestly looking half asleep, and sighed.

"We aren’t-"

"We’re here to pick up paperwork for Ms. Sara Bellum," Brick interrupted. Blossom shot him a small glare at the rude behavior, but he ignored her. The man blinked a few times before sighing.

"Right. That's not actually here. That's located at our sister site just down the road. You’ll have to go there to get it. We tried to call you but weren't able to get through."

Brick scowled at the guy. "I didn’t get any calls."

"Hmmm, maybe we had the wrong number. My bad."

Brick sighed heavily through his nose before glancing down at Blossom. She raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. He turned back to the man.

"Fine. What's the address?" He said through grit teeth. Blossom subtlety nudged him, but he ignored the reprimand. With a sigh the man pulled out a piece of paper and wrote it down.

"Here," the man said holding out the paper. Brick snatched it out of his hands and glared down at it.

"That's a whole two blocks over."

"That's not that bad Brick," Blossom said. She turned to the man. "Thank you. We’ll head there now."

Brick glared once last time before they left the building. "Come on. Let's get this over with."

They walked over to his car and when they got closer, Brick let out a very colorful string of curses. Blossom couldn't help the look of surprise. He didn’t necessarily sensor himself around her but Brick was never out right vocal like this even when he was angry.

"Brick. Language."

"My tires are slashed!"

She looked at his car. He was right. "Oh. That was awfully rude of someone. I guess we'll have to walk."

"Hell. No. We aren’t walking there. You and I are going to head back inside and wait until a cab arrives to take you back. I'll get the damned paperwork myself afterwards."

"I think not! It’s two blocks Brick. Come on, you can call to have a cab pick us up from there. By the time we get there we might even be lucky enough for a cab to have shown up. With how well you seem to know the area I would assume you also know how notoriously hard it is to get cabs here."

"I do know but Blossom-"

"No. Be sensible. Come on, let's get the over with."

She turned and started walking towards their destination, not waiting for Brick. She heard another string of colorful curses before he finally decided to follow after her. He was back at her side in no time.

"I hope you know I very strongly don’t agree that this is a smart decision."

"I hope you know that I very much don’t care."

He growled at her and she glared back. They continued to walk in silence after that for a bit. Blossom couldn't help but gulp after a while though. She felt eyes on her.

Maybe she had been a tad bit hasty. Maybe this was a bad idea. She was just about to say as much to Brick before two men stepped out in front of them.

"Well well well. Lookie here Slim. We have our selves’ one hell of a beauty here," the one on the right said. He was short and rather pudgy looking, a grey fedora on his head. His voice held the hint of an accent that Blossom couldn't quite place.

"That we do Bossman. Don’t see a lady like this in the 'ere part of town often," the one on the left, Slim, said. He was much taller than the other one, looking more like a twig than anything else. His voice had the same accent so she assumed they were from the same place.

She could audibly hear Brick's teeth grinding against one another. She sent him a concerned look. It was clear he was seriously not happy with the situation.

"We aren’t looking for trouble guys so if you'll just let us-"

"Hey Bossman. Looks like ya found a real showstopper here."

Blossom startled at the sound of a voice from behind her. Brick immediately pulled her closer to his side as he glanced over his shoulder. He was frowning now, eyes glancing between the three men.

"Junior! Good of ya ta join us," Bossman said. The new man had the same accent and Blossom was starting to wonder if maybe they were all related somehow. The new guy was the shortest of the three and clearly the youngest too. The name Junior fit.

"Wouldn’t miss it. Hi there pretty lady," Junior said as he waved cheekily at Blossom. She glared at him but stayed silent.

"Please, we just need to pick something up from a building not far from here and then we'll be on our way," Brick said as he glanced around.

They were on the sidewalk in front of an empty lot with alleyways on both sides. Across the street was what looked to be a very old, abandoned apartment complex building. The building looked like it may have once been beautiful but was now nearly tumbling down on its own. There was a small yard, a rare commodity in a place like this, which was severely overrun. Large trees brushed against the sides of the building adding an ominous look to the whole thing. Even the fencing surrounding the building look to be half rotten in places.

Brick kept glancing at the building and then back down at her. She felt her brow furrow. Was he...?

Bossman took a few steps toward them, a glint in his eyes. "Well, ya see, this ain't a very nice part a town. So hows about we-"

With a flash of motion Brick lunged at Bossman with a punch straight to the face. The man yelped and fell back, Slim immediately moving towards him to help.

"Run."

She didn’t need to be told twice. Brick grabbed her hand and they ran straight for the building on the other side of the street. She was surprised when Brick went straight for the door and even more surprised when he threw it open. Even if it was abandoned, shouldn’t these things be kept locked up?!

Not that she was complaining. She heard the three men behind them yelling something and knew they were headed after them. Brick was tugging her down the hallway and looking around. After a moment of this his face lit up and he pulled her down another hallway.

"This way. Hurry."

He clearly knew the building and had found what he’d been looking for. She would be questioning him about that later but for now decided to trust him. He made his way for a room, glancing over his shoulder before easing it open.

"Damn thing always used to squeak. Knew I should have fixed it."

He wasn’t talking to her but mumbling to himself. She raised an eyebrow all the same only for him to shake off the question. She frowned but let it slide. They both turned to look down the hallway at the sound of a door opening and she could hear the three men arguing now. Brick growled lightly under his breath before pulling her into the room. He eased the door shut again as she looked around.

She was right that this had been an old apartment building. The room they were in looked to be an old studio room and whoever had been renting the place must have been in a rush to get out. The closet was open and empty but an old metal bed frame and bed, stripped of covers, was still there. She could see a few pots and other things in some of the open kitchen cabinets too. A layer of dust covered everything.

That was all she was able to make out before Brick was back at her side. His hand went to the small of her back again as he maneuvered her over to the bed. She opened her mouth to say something but he was quick to raise a finger to his lips, asking her to stay silent. She glared but complied. For now.

He brought her into a crouch behind the bed. It wasn’t really much cover, but she supposed it was the best they could do. Brick positioned himself at the end of it and watched the door. She frowned at him before turning to do the same.

It was quite for a while until they heard voices. She focused on them only to get confused. Those weren't the voices of the three from earlier. Were there more people here? She tried to get Brick's attention but he waved her off again to focus on the door. She huffed lightly.

It sounded like there were two of them. They were talking casually and so they couldn't have been too far away. Maybe a few doors down? She couldn't help the jump when she heard a door slam open.

Brick was growling under his breath again.

"They're looking for us. Shit," he said under his breath as he glanced around the room frantically. She rolled her eyes.

"Well yes, I'm not surprised. We did run away from them," she hissed back softly.

"No. These guys are- doesn't matter! Shit!"

"Different guys right? Maybe they'll help?"

"Not likely. Didn’t you hear what those three were yelling about?"

She hadn't. She'd been too focused on getting away.

"They weren't just random guys picking out a mark. They knew your name Blossom. They’d probably been following us for a while. At least since we entered the neighborhood."

Her heart stopped at that. They knew her name? But how?! She'd never seen any of them before in her life! She tugged lightly on the back of Brick's hoodie and when he finally turned to her his eyes softened at her look of panic.

"Don't worry. I'm gunna get us out of this. I just need something..."

He was chewing at his bottom lip in thought. She heard another door open and Brick rubbed a hand across his face. Finally seeming to make up his mind he started to pull the hoodie he was wearing off before thrusting it into her hands.

"Do you trust me?" He asked her. She met his eyes, the question clear, but he didn’t elaborate further. She nodded before taking the hoodie.

"Great. Put this on."

She quickly did so while Brick glanced at the door. When Blossom had the hoodie on he was quick to adjust it so that the hood was up and her hair was hidden. "Great. Please don’t kill me for this later."

She was about to ask what he meant but didn’t get a chance to before he was pulling his t-shirt over his head. She blinked, completely confused, as she came face to chest with him. At the sight of the abs she felt her brain misfire entirely. Brick took advantage of that, unintentionally as he didn’t even really seem to be paying attention to her, and picked her up. She squeaked slightly but before she could process completely -oh those abs and was that a tattoo- was being set back down on the bed.

Brick gulped at the sound of another door opening and pushed her to lay down. He manhandled her slightly into position at the edge of the bed. She put her foot down when his hands came to rest on her legs.

"Brick-"

"Please Blossom. Just trust me."

She swallowed thickly as she looked up and him. His eyes darted back to the door and she knew they were running out of time. She sighed but nodded. His sigh of relief was audibly.

He went back to adjusting her and she felt her face flush as he pulled her legs apart so he was standing between them and Blossom was extremely thankfully she was wearing jeans for one. All the same, she opened her mouth to say something again but Brick was already moving on. To her clothes.

He adjusted the hood again, making she her hair was hidden before sliding the bottom of the sweatshirt up substantially. Her hand twitched and she was about to move the jacket back down but Brick grabbed her hands and pinned them to the bed. She looked up and him and knew she was bright red. The jerk couldn't help the smirk at that and she glared in response.

"Stay," he whispered down at her and gave her a second to nod before pulling back and away from her. She tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself but that idea went out the window when she heard Brick pull the door open.

What was he doing?!

"Hey, heard the slamming. Something going on?" She heard him casually ask. She glanced down, careful not to move her head, and saw him leaning against the door frame. She couldn't see more than a flash of movement past him in the hallway. She did however hear the men in the hallway.

"Yeah. Apparently, Him put out a notice on some chicks. One of 'em rushed into the building with a dude. You seen 'em?"

The man didn’t sound suspicious of Brick at all which made no sense to her. Shouldn’t there be no one in the building? Also, who was Him? Why was he looking for some girls? Was she one of them? Was that why this was happening?

"Haven’t seen anyone. Been a bit preoccupied," Brick said with a chuckle. He moved slightly and she could feel the eyes of the men from the hallway on her. She didn't let herself look again.

"She seems...pliable," one of them men said while the other chuckled.

"Eh. She was just a chick I picked up outside the bar just down the street. You know what they're like."

"Ha! That explains that. High as a kite huh?"

It was official. She was going to kill Brick later.

Brick chuckled again. "Didn’t ask. Anyways, let me know if you find her."

"Lookin to get some brownie points with Him? Cause from what I heard he really wants these chicks."

"Eh. Maybe. Kinda in the middle of something though so if you guys don’t mind...?"

They chuckled. "Have fun. Hey, let us know if she’s any good. Might swing by to try a round or two myself if she is."

"Will do."

And finally, he closed the door. He stayed there listening while Blossom finally allowed herself to sit up, fixing the hoodie quickly as she did so. She glared at Brick as she waited for him to turn around. Finally he did with a sigh only to flinch back at the sight of her.

"Bloss-"

"No. We are having words after this situation is dealt with Brick Jojo but until then, I want out of here and you somehow seem to know your way around. Get me home now Jojo."

Normally he would have barked something back at her but this time he just winced as he walked over and picked up his shirt. He had to be freezing. It was late fall after all. From what she could see though he seemed just fine. She tried to ignore the little voice that said he looked a lot more than just fine.

Bad Blossom’s brain. Bad.

"Fine. I need you to keep following my lead though okay? I know a way out of here, but chances are if those two were looking for us then the whole building is."

"And that means what exactly? This place looked abandoned!" She hissed, barely keeping her voice in a whisper. Brick grimaced at her.

"It kinda is? It's a neutral ground for the gangs in the area. Meetings are held here as well as deals and other things. Several of the gangs in town post men to make sure it stays neutral. Anyone can use it as long as you’re associated with a gang."

She paused as she processed those words and glared at Brick.

"Are you telling me that you-"

"I'm not. At least, not actively and not by choice. My parents were in the gang life and to give me and my bros some protection our mom had us all marked with her gang symbol. It’s kind of a universally recognized symbol in the underbelly of town so no one questions us when they see it. It’s an annoying association to have but I'm really not gunna complain right now when it just saved us."

She thought she'd seen a mark on his chest but hadn't gotten a close look. She had been slightly distracted though. It also explained why he took his shirt off though.

"Fine. As long as you aren’t involved in anything illegal."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm literally in school to become a lawyer. You really think I'm about to screw that up?"

She made a face. "Fair point. Now, how do we get out of here? Window?"

He shook his head. "Not on this side, no. If they're sweeping the inside the guys outside will be walking the perimeter. There’s not an easy way over the fence on this side of the building either. We need to head to the other side. There was a window on the second floor that opened up right by a sturdy tree branch. I'm hoping that's still the case even though it's been a few years since I was last here. If we can climb down it then there should be an old hole in the fence that my bros and I used to use to sneak in and out of here."

"If this is neutral ground then why- never mind. Not important. This plan sounds like a whole lot of maybe and possibly Brick."

"I know but I really don’t know of any other way. It's bad enough that we have to sneak across the entire place to get to the room we need. You'll have to keep the hoodie on. A lot of the lighting in this place is screwed up so if you stay low and we stick to corners it’ll help keep you hidden. If I get stopped, don’t move. If I think you need to run I'll say a code word. Purple work for you?"

She nodded.

"Good. Luckily it's a big building and there shouldn’t be enough people that this’ll be impossible. Just, don’t move unless I ask you to."

"I get it Brick. I'll follow your lead."

He let out a heavy sigh at that before nodding. He turned to the door and eased it open enough to stick his head out. He looked down both ends of the hall but must have seen nothing. He eased the door open more and gestured for her to follow. With a sigh, she got up to do that.

* * *

Right. So far so good. Brick glanced both ways down the halls but didn’t see anyone. He gestured for Blossom to stay put before darting across the hallway and halfway up the stairs. He stretched to try and peek over the rim at the top and just barely managed to see. It looked clear but who knew for how long.

He looked back to Blossom to see she was watching him from her crouched position at the edge of the hallway. He eased back down the stairs, carefully avoiding the third step as it tended to creak. He was about to check the hallway again but stopped short when he heard voices.

"Can’t believe Him has the whole gang out for this. It’s insane!"

He mentally cursed and saw Blossom's eyes widen. He gestured for her to stay down and close to the wall it sounded like the guys were approaching. The hallway she was in should already have been searched so hopefully these guys wouldn’t be looking down it. Thankfully, she understood what he was asking for.

"Seriously. All to keep that pet project of his in line. Heard Mojo got involved even. Really pissed Him off."

Well, good to know mom and dad were still on their usual terms. Thoughts for another time though.

Brick quickly climbed back up the stairs and turned just past the corner, pushing into a crouch as far back as he could. Blossom should be fine. Butch's hoodie was black and he'd never been more thankful in his life that he'd forgotten to do laundry the day before. His red jacket would have made this a nightmare.

"Well, he is the only one who can get away with it and ever since the divorce-"

"Was that even a thing? Cause I heard that it was just a separation."

Brick would have snorted at that if he could. It was definitely a thing. He could still remember the screaming matches when Mojo had found Him's new gang symbol tattooed on his sons' chests. That had really been the last straw for dear old dad.

"That's what I heard too but I know a guy who was an acquaintance of the boys and he said it was a divorce. All three boys disappeared after that too which made it seem legit."

"You think?" They were nearly at the staircase. "I heard they've been seen at the university lately. Or at least, the eldest has." They stepped out into sight and Brick held his breath. He couldn't see Blossom from where he was, and he hoped they wouldn’t look down at her. It didn’t look like they were going to.

"They have but they're protected somehow. Him won’t go near them but also heard that Him still has them watched out for too. If anyone goes after any of them Him still promises a manhunt."

Good to know mom still cared. Maybe he'd send him a card this year. Probably not though.

"I mean they are his sons. Wonder what that was like for him, having to give birth for the sake of an alliance that's barely held together anymore."

The other guy snorted as they continued past where Brick could see them.

"If you know what's good for you you'll keep that question to yourself. I heard that Him underwent the whole gender change literally the day after he gave birth. The boys were born at that point so no one cared anymore. Not until he made his own gang and used it to completely demolish his parents’ old one in revenge for forcing him through it all."

Ah yes, grandma and granddad did have a rough end didn’t they. He still remember the screeching match between his own parents when Mojo had found out. Thinking back on it, that was really the beginning of the end of their marriage. The two men were now far enough past the staircase that Brick felt comfortable easing his way back down.

"I heard about that. Can't say I blame Him."

"That's only cause you haven’t seen the pictures. What he did...only the devil himself would be capable of that."

"That bad..."

The voices faded as the two men turned to walk down another hallway. Thank god this place was such a maze of hallways. He reached the original position he had used to check the second floor and looked at Blossom. The panic was pretty clear in her eyes and he really hoped those weren't tears he was seeing. When she looked at him though, he decided he was pretty sure they were. God this was a nightmare.

He eased back down to the first step and this time was able to check the hallway. He saw no one and quickly gestured for her to head over. She rushed quickly over to him and he helped her move quietly up that stairs, making sure she also avoided squeaky step #3.

They made their way up the rest of the staircase and Brick did another check once he was there. He wasn’t sure if they’d started checking this floor yet or not but either way, someone would be by soon. They had to move quickly. He held out his hand for Blossom's and she was quick to give it.

Any other time and he'd probably have a dopey looking grin on his face that he really didn’t want to think too hard about at the action but right now he just needed her out of here. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before moving on.

His heart squeezed slightly when she returned the action.

He stopped at the next intersection, checked again, took off down the right. Next one was another check then another right. He kept his ears open as he made his way down the hallways and prayed no one would be by. He finally reached the door he was looking for.

Now this would be the tricky bit. He hadn't mentioned this to Blossom, but this door would always stick and needed a bit of a shouldering to get it to move. It would be noisy and they’d have to move quickly afterwards. The window was smooth to open last time he was here though and he was hoping that was still the case.

Thank god Him had brought his brothers and him along for business meetings. It was the only reason he knew this place like the back of his hand.

Taking a deep breath Brick let go of Blossom's hand and braced his shoulder on the door while grabbing the handle. Hopefully, he'd just need to give it a good shove. He knew he was a lot stronger than his lanky high school freshman self had been so he was pretty confident it'd be fine. He gave himself to a mental count of three before turning the knob and pushing.

As he'd expected, it was a lot louder than he wanted. Not as loud as he had been bracing for though and hopefully that meant it was quiet enough. He didn’t plan to stick around to find out though.

He quickly grabbed Blossom and shoved her into the room quickly following her in. He spun and shut the door as quietly as he could. Hopefully, it would give them some time.

"Brick-"

He waved the question away as he rushed through the empty room to the window. He tugged it up and thought he was in the clear until it got stuck. Growling he adjusted his grip and yanked. The window gave in and he was able to open it all the way. He looked out and down and thankfully not only was there no one on that side of the building at that moment, the tree was still there too.

He was hoping that it was still as sturdy as it used to be. That small annoying voice in his head was laughing at him for that.

"Come on. I need you to get on the branch and shimmy across to the trunk. Stay in the tree though until I get down. There are some shrubs we should be able to hide in, but I don’t want to risk you being seen so I need to make sure it’s clear first."

Blossom was giving him that look again. And he begged her with his eyes as he held his hand out again. He knew she was going to demand answers but first he had to get her out of here. He'd figure out how to avoid answering her after that.

With a sigh she accepted the hand again. He helped her up onto the ledge and then kept her steady as she reached for the branch. Her legs were just barely long enough to reach it. He kept her steady while she tested to see if it would take her weight. When it held, he couldn't help but release the breath he’d been holding.

With a determined look on her face Blossom finally made her way onto the branch. Brick kept hold of her for as long as he could to try and help. He held his breath as she let go to slowly start making her way to the trunk. Thankfully, she made it and he decided he could breathe again.

Then he heard voices from behind him. They were far enough away that he knew he still had some time but it didn’t feel like enough. He took a deep breath to calm himself before looking down again.

Still clear. Now for the tricky bit. The second story wouldn’t be too bad and if he hung off the windowsill it would be barely a drop. It should keep the noise down and hopefully no one would turn the corner any time soon.

Taking one last deep breath, Brick climbed up and out the window. Like he thought, he was nearly able to touch the ground below and he really hoped no one was in the room on the first floor. Be a bit of a giveaway to see him hanging just outside the window.

He seemed to be in the clear though as he let go and landed softly on the ground. Luckily, it was mostly loose dirt and so it was quiet too. He glanced at both corners of the building as he darted into the bushes and crouched there. He gave it a second or two before looking up at Blossom.

She was hugging the tree and kept glancing back at the window they’d come from. She didn’t look alarmed though so he assumed she was just keeping watch. Once she saw him looking at her she raised an eyebrow in question.

He did one last look before standing below her and gesturing for her to jump down. She gave him a look for that and he had to resist the exhausted groan he was tempted to release.

She just had to argue every chance she got, didn’t she?

He made a face back and her and gestured again, a bit more forcefully. They didn’t have time for her to climb down the damned thing! Any second now someone could turn the corner and they’d be screwed!

Thankfully, this time she listened. Two seconds later he was grabbing her as she slid off the branch and into his arms. He quickly set her down before grabbing her hand and moving along the fence in a crouch.

The shrubs went all along the fence and would help keep them hidden but not well enough. Thankfully, they didn't have to go far. They reached the hole quickly. Brick crouched down and he thanked every god he knew of that thing was still there. He shoved the make shift door his brothers and he had made all those years ago and crouched down to look through it.

He didn’t see anyone and he pushed the stray plank that had been hiding the hole further out of the way before gesturing to Blossom. She made a face at him and he made one back.

"Get through the damned hole Blossom," he hissed at her. She clearly wasn’t appreciating the situation if she was still fighting him on everything. She also clearly didn’t appreciate his language but she'd get over it.

With a huff she got down and looked through the hole. Making a face again she started to squeeze through it. She had a lot more space than he would that was for sure.

He glanced around as she made her way through before hearing a gasp from her. He quickly turned back to her.

"What? What's wrong-"

"It’s fine. There's glass and I think I might have cut myself is all."

He let out a sigh of relief. Not that it was a good thing but as long as there wasn’t anyone in the alleyway. He could patch her up once they were out of here.

"Okay. Stay close once you’re through," he added. Last thing he needed was for her to take off and get seen. They might be out of the worst of it once they were through here but they still wouldn’t be clear. She huffed in response and he rolled her eyes as he watched her make the rest of her way through the fence.

And if he maybe enjoyed the sight of her ass wiggling through the fence? Well, she'd never know.

Once she was through Brick was quick to get down to follow only to be stopped by her hand.

"Wait. Let me get the glass real quick."

He couldn't argue with that really. Getting cut wasn’t an ideal situation and it wouldn't take her long. Which it didn’t. Two seconds later and he had the go ahead.

He wasn’t nearly as graceful getting through the hole as she'd been. He was a lot larger than he used to be and for a moment he almost worried he'd get stuck. He was good though and through the fence quickly enough.

Once he was through he quickly turned to Blossom.

"Let me see- fuck! That's a lot of blood."

"Yeah. It's deep but I doubt I nicked anything important. It's the side of my arm and not the bottom of it thankfully."

It was still too much blood for his taste. He pulled his shirt up and off and ignored her protesting.

"You need to keep that hoodie on, and we need to try and stop the bleeding. Use this and apply pressure-"

"I know basic CPR and first aid Brick. Just- give it to me."

He grimaced as he handed it over. Thankfully, it was a trash shirt, again thank God he'd forgotten to do laundry, but Butch would be pissed about the hoodie.

...oh well. Wasn’t his.

"Come on. I live nearby. We can take a better look at it there and it we're lucky one of my brother might be home and we can grab their car to get you home."

"You live near here?"

He nodded and started to quickly look around. Everything looked clear but they’d be moving on to sweeping the alleyways soon he was sure. Especially if Him really did mobilize everyone.

"Yeah. Not everyone has the luxury of living in a nice suburban home like you do babe. We make do with what we can. Now come on. We need to get there before the rest of the gang shows up."

"Following your lead again I'm assuming?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You got a better idea?"

She sighed before awkwardly gesturing for him to lead the way.

Right. Almost there.

* * *

“You sure you got this covered? I can always head back for the late shift,” Boomer said as he slowly hung up his apron on the back way. Mitch snorted at that before waving him off.

“Dude. It’s Wednesday. Only thing anyone’s gunna want tonight is an extra shot of expresso. Go get some rest. You seriously need it.”

“I’m not that bad dude. And I had a night off not too long ago so seriously-”

“You still need rest. Go. I got this covered. Get that one dude you’re thinking of in here to meet me soon though. If I like him we can hire him pronto. I’ll appreciate the help and you will too once you can finally have a work-life balance.”

Boomer flipped Mitch off as he reluctantly hopped the bar. “Whatever, asshole. I’ll send him a text now. I asked Butch and he said the guy is off tonight so I’ll see if he can swing by. If you wanna give him a mix test I seriously recommend his fishbowl. It’s a kicker.”

“Did boss man just give me the okay to drink on the clock? Damn dude, ballsy.”

“Whatever, you’re as much the boss man as I am. And I didn’t say down the thing. Anyways, text me if you need help ya? I don’t really have any plans so-”

“Boom. My man. Leave before I kick you out of your own damned shop.”

Boomer rolled his eyes and shook his head as he raised his hands in defeat. He started on his way to the door. “Fine. I’m out. Seriously, text me if you need it.”

Mitch sighed loudly as he shook his head before he turned to head back into the back. No one was in the shop so they’d been checking inventory and had only half finished before Boomer’s yawning had gotten on Mitch’s nerves.

Chuckling to himself, Boomer opened the door only to flinch back at someone being right there.

“Shit man! Gunna give a dude a heart attack!”

The guy laughed at that. “Sorry. Just came to get a tea for my girlfriend. She loved it but is also for some reason stubbornly not wanting to come back to get another.”

Boomer raised an eyebrow at that. “She say why? I’d love the feedback. My partner and I are still refining things and any advice is super appreciated.”

The guy shrugged. “She just said the mojo was off or something. I dunno man. She gets these weird ideas sometimes and I kinda just let her. Easier than trying to make sense of what she’s thinking.”

Boomer’s eyebrow went higher at that. “Well, okay then. I’ll see about getting a design student in here to check the space out. Still man, should maybe try to understand your girl a bit better there. You are dating her after all.”

“I’d say I understand her pretty well actually. Anyways, sorry I gave you the scare.”

The guy walked around Boomer and headed for the bar. Boomer watched him for a second before turning, head shaking, to make his way out. He just couldn’t understand some guys. Why wouldn’t you treat your girlfriend like gold? Or put in the effort to truly understand what she was getting at?

Whatever. Wasn’t his place. And he had a bed at home that was calling his name to get to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, I wasn't able to write as much of this as I was hoping for. It is going to be my focus for the next little bit though. I have two weeks before school starts back up so here's hoping I can write lots. I should be able to release another chapter for this in a month though so keep an eye out! I'll hopefully have enough by then to continue with monthly releases. We shall see though.  
> Until next time. Ciao!


	4. Moving Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Been about a month so time for another chapter! I was able to get to where I had hoped to be at the beginning of the semester so I am now caught up and happy! Taking a short content break from this and #3 to work on some of my pipeline stories. I'm doubtful that I'll have the one I'm working on ready to post anytime soon though. I think with school, two posted stories is my limit. Anyways! Hope you enjoy!  
> Thank you as always for the kudos, follows, and reviews! They really do help motivate me to keep posting these!

"Alright in in in," Brick said as he quickly opened the door and pushed Blossom through the doorway. He really needed to stop doing that! She turned and glared at him as he slammed the door shut and locked it. Using the three locks there. She guessed that considering the neighborhood that it wasn’t the _most_ extreme security.

"Bathroom?" She asked as Brick turned to face her. He nodded.

"Yeah, this way."

Brick led her into the apartment, not giving her much time to look around. It wasn’t the cleanest, Blossom saw a dirty shirt draped over the back of a couch as they went by, but wasn’t overly dirty either. They went past a few doors before Brick opened one that led into a bathroom. Blossom quickly went in and hoped that she hadn't bled over the floors too much. He followed her in, leaving the door open, and hoisted her onto the counter.

"I can do that myself you know,” she said with a glare. Brick huffed but didn’t look at her.

"Well, while I go get the first aid kit how about you take that hoodie off then babe."

Brick quickly left before Blossom could say anything. She sniffed but did as he asked. Dropping the shirt she’d been pressing against the wound, Blossom pulled her uninjured arm out of the hoodie, then her head, but stopped there. She glared at the cut. The sleeve was plastered along it and she knew this part was going to hurt.

She was right. Slowly, Blossom pealed the hoodie off of her arm and couldn't help but whimper in pain. Deciding that slower was not better, about halfway through she ripped it off only to cry out slightly at the pain.

"Dude, bro. Did you seriously bring a girl over? Cause power to ya but if you’re fucking her in the bathroom-well hello Utonium sister. That's a lot of blood," Butch said as he stepped into the doorway. Blossom swallowed heavily as she pressed the hoodie against the cut. She’d reopened a part of it.

"Hello Butch. It is indeed a lot of blood isn’t it?"

"And my hoodie. Brick! Why the fuck is pink stuff here bleeding over my favorite hoodie?!"

Blossom frowned. No wonder Brick hadn't seemed too upset.

"I'll replace it," she said.

"Uh-uh. This screams hothead and if it was him, he's the one replacing it."

"I'm going to assume hothead is Brick and while, yes he gave it to me I was the one who got hurt and bled on it, so I'll replace it."

"Butch stop yelling. Also, I'll need your jeep in a sec," Brick said as he reappeared with a first aid kit. He’d grabbed a shirt and quickly put it on as well.

"Dude! I got work in like ten minutes! Call a fucking ambulance or somethin'! That thing looks like it’ll need stitched anyways."

"Can’t. They're looking for her and that'll attract too much attention. Some jackasses, probably the guys that chased us, slashed my tires so I can’t go grab my car either. Just let me borrow yours."

Brick set the kit down next to Blossom and pulled the ruined jacket away from her arm slowly. He grimaced at the sight of the wound and Blossom couldn't help but do the same. It would probably need stitches. Meaning it would probably scar. Oh well. She was alive and not being held captive. She’d take what she could get.

"They? They who? You don’t mean the dark side, do you? The fuck do the gangs want with someone like her?"

"How the fuck should I know Butch?" Brick growled back as he opened the kit. He glared at his brother quickly before starting to pull out what he needed. "They were looking for her though. Him and his gang want her."

"Him? Seriously? Fuck."

Okay. That was like the fifth one. Normally she didn’t mind the odd curse here and there, they were adults after all, but this was getting excessive.

"Can you both please stop saying that word?! With how large the English language is there is literally no excuse to spit out that word over and over again."

Brick ignored her but Butch raised an eyebrow. "You mean fuck? What, you don’t like when people say fuck? Cause, fuck, that sucks. Lots of people love to say-"

"Butch! Knock it off! If you're just going to be annoying, go do it somewhere where there isn’t someone bleeding all over our apartment!" Brick snapped at him. The green-eyed man gave his older brother a look.

"Just sayin'. Anyways, looks like it isn’t life threatening so imma go change."

"Don’t take your jeep anywhere!" Brick shouted after him. Butch made a sound of dismissal from somewhere down the hall that was just loud enough to hear. Brick looked up at her with the antiseptic in hand. "This is going to hurt."

Blossom was about to chew on her lip but stopped herself. Last thing she needed to do was bite clean through it on accident. She took a deep breath before looking away. "Do it!"

Brick didn’t hesitate and Blossom couldn't help the half scream of pain.

"Jesus bro! Don’t kill her!" Butch shouted from down the hall.

"Shut up Butch!"

Blossom whimpered lightly as Brick gentle tried to clean the edges of the cut with gauze. He looked angry which might have concerned her if he hadn't just risked life and limb to save her. Red eyes did not look nice on an angry face. Even if, and she admitted this with great reluctance, it was a rather good-looking face.

"Almost done. It looks like not too much dirt got in it and yeah, you'll probably need stitches but not many. It's not even as long as I thought it was at first."

Blossom glanced at her arm to see he was right. It had looked a lot worse than it was. She was no doctor though and so she couldn't judge on how badly it might need stitches or not. She glanced at Brick's forearm as he finished cleaning the wound and, not for the first time, took note of the scar he had just below the sleeve of his t-shirt on his right arm. That had probably needed stitches too. She guessed it was personal experience that gave him a better idea on how bad the wound was.

"I'll need to go to the hospital then," Blossom said. Her voice was light and airy from the pain.

Brick nodded. "Yeah. First, I'm taking you home though. Your dad needs to know what's going on."

Blossom frowned at that. Yes, her father did need to know but Brick didn’t know much about her personally. He was in no position to judge who needed to know what and when.

"It would be better if-"

"Please Blossom. Just- you trusted me back there so trust me here. They'll be covering the nearby hospitals. We need to get you to your family and then later tonight you can go to a hospital in your part of town. Far, far away from this side of town."

Blossom flinched as Brick accidentally applied a touch too much pressure and he apologized under his breath before grabbing some bandages and more gauze. She supposed he had been right so far. A few more hours of trusting him wouldn’t be the end of the world.

"Fine. My family's place first."

The sound of a door opening carried into the room. A second later and Boomer’s voice was yelling through the apartment. "Yo! Why’s there blood all over the place?"

Brick grit his teeth. "Get in here, shut the god damned door, lock it, and shut up Boom!" He roared towards the door. Blossom gave him an unimpressed look.

"I mean, that was a very valid response."

"And your response is honestly kinda creepy. Shouldn’t you be freaking out more?!" He growled back at her.

"Oh, I'm sure the panic will set in eventually. Right now, I'm still processing. Thankfully not going into shock. That would be bad."

"Yes, yes it would. No going into shock."

"Well. This is unexpected," Boomer said as he poked his head into the bathroom. "Hi Blossom. Looks like you ain't doing so good."

"Hi Boomer. It could be worse."

Boomer hummed as he looked at the cut. Brick glared at him before starting to bandage it. "Either help or get out Boom."

He shrugged. "Guess I can help. What happened?"

"Apparently I'm wanted by the gangs. I cut myself on glass when we were getting away."

Boomer gave Brick an alarmed look. "What?! The gangs?! Which ones? Why?"

"Heard Him mentioned. Not sure why. I need to get her back home as soon as I have this bandaged," Brick said, not looking at either of them.

"Dude! Him?! Bro you ain't going alone. Please tell me they didn’t see your face." Boomer waited for Brick to say something only he didn’t. "Brick!"

"What?! I can’t say they didn’t but I'm not sure they know who I am okay?"

"And who exactly are you three?" Blossom said, cutting into the conversation finding herself done with being talked around. Boomer gulped nervously at the look on her face. She wasn’t surprised. She knew firsthand how many people were surprised when they found out just how intimidating pink eyes could be. Red eyes weren’t the only ones that looked terrifying on an angry face.

"Well, you look like you have this under control actually. Imma go find Butch. We can take his jeep to get her home. Don’t leave without me!" Boomer said before making a quick escape. Blossom turned her look onto Brick who still wouldn’t look at her.

"Brick, I did say we were going to talk about this."

He grimaced as he finished up with the bandage. "Yeah. I remember."

"Then for the love of god Jojo, explain."

"I... can only say so much." He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall across from her. She went to cross her arms only to wince and stop short. She let her hands drop, carefully, into her lap instead.

"Fine. Say what you can then. And don’t think I forgot what you did. I expect a decent explanation for the parts you can talk about!"

She felt her cheeks burning lightly as she remembered earlier and how he'd maneuvered her. He chuckled as he remembered it too and nervously scratched at his neck.

"Yeah, like I said, sorry about that. Thanks for not killing me yet. Short version, we grew up around here and so I knew that a lot of young gang members like to take their girls to that place for quickies. Usually, the girls at the store I mentioned are up for it if you pay them. They tend to all be high on something, so I figured if you stayed still maybe they’d just figure that was why. Gave you an excuse to not get up and show them your face. Not that I would know from firsthand experience. I heard a lot about it growing up though. Just… paid attention to what people didn’t think I was close enough to hear," Brick said with a wince.

"As long as it wasn’t firsthand experience. The whole thing sound like it involves dubious consent. Still, I’m guessing it was believable. The fact that you have a gang symbol tattooed on your chest didn’t hurt either."

He shrugged and Blossom could tell he was nervous. "Not like I asked to have it put there babe. Look, I don’t do any of that but our parents are in it. Deep in it. Our dad got all three of us out with the help of an old colleague. Our mom was the one who wanted us to have these. Mom's...hard to explain, had a hard life and even though we weren't really wanted, we were still loved. Unfortunately, our mom's way of caring is a little more extreme than others."

"And she could just put that symbol on you? All three of you too I'm guessing. I would imagine that there would be rules or something against that."

"Let's just say that there were reasons it was okay. Look, we've not really been involved with either of our parents in years now. We were set up here with enough money to get us through college and technically had a guardian who dropped by. It was a little bit on the sly sort of a deal but we couldn't go through the proper legal channels. At least, not without causing some serious issues."

"And this guardian just leaves you to your own devices?! How long have you three been on your own?!"

"We got out when we were 15 and she would be more involved if we let her. Ms. Bellum attracts a lot of attention though and although she knows the street life, we felt it was better if she kept her visits to a minimum. Safer that way."

It clicked. "That's why you wanted to work at the firm. Ms. Bellum."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, she’s why I wanted to become a lawyer. She grew up around here and knows _of_ our parents. Hell, she was known back then for helping kids with iffy parents with schoolwork and shit. I took Butch and Boom to her a few times when I couldn’t help them myself. When she found out dad was trying to get us out she offered to help. I figured I could try and help out a little if I interned for her, pay her back a bit, ya know? I know there were better choices but..." he shrugged, and she understood. Ms. Sara Bellum was a highly respected woman for everything she had done in her career. Blossom looked up to her even before meeting the woman. For someone she had actually helped? It made sense.

"Okay. Fine. I'll accept that explanation and I trust you aren’t secretly going to deliver me to this Him person. Still, don’t think you're off the hook. Asking permission before manhandling someone is usually appreciated."

He chuckled. "I might not be a bad guy but hell babe, I wasn’t saying no to the idea I'd had and I couldn't risk you saying no. Didn’t have a lot of time to discuss either and let’s be real, you would have wanted to discuss."

Right. Blossom gave him a look and Brick gave her a wolfish grin. With a sigh and a roll of the eyes she decided to let it go. The whole thing had worked. She’d rather be left with a slightly embarrassing memory then carted off to a gang lord. And in his defense, she probably would have ‘discussed’ and ruined it all if he’d tried to explain first. He shook his head before pushing off the wall.

"Anyways, we need to get you home. Boom! You got a jacket or something for Blossom? I don’t want her going out without something to cover her hair."

"Don’t do it! It’ll come back ruined!" Butch yelled back. Blossom sighed. Home sounded nice.

* * *

"Dad!" Blossom yelled as she threw the door open. "I need to talk to you!"

"Bloss, why the hell- Jesus fucking Christ is that blood?" Buttercup asked as she came out from the kitchen. Brick and his brothers shuffled their way into the house after Blossom before closing the door. No way in hell were they leaving before he spoke to Professor Utonium.

"Language Buttercup. Where’s dad?"

"Yo firecracker. Fancy seeing you here," Butch purred out. Buttercup glared.

"If I find out you're the reason my sisters covered in blood then you're a dead man walking," Buttercup snarled at him. Butch help his hands defensively.

"Buttercup! Dad!"

"Fine! He’s in the lab! Should be up in a second with how loud you're yelling!"

"With how loud both of you are yelling. What's...Blossom, is that blood?" The Professor said as he stepped through the basement door and into the main room. He paled quickly at the sight of his eldest daughter and paled more at the sight of Brick and his brothers. "What happened?"

There was movement at the top of the stairs and Brick looked up to see Bubbles standing there.

"Yes, it’s blood and I wish I could say it wasn’t mine. Don’t worry! The wound is bandaged up pretty well, but I'll probably need to pay a visit to urgent care. But...well..."

Brick could tell she didn’t really know how to proceed so he jumped in.

"Sir, my name is Brick and I wish I was meeting you under different circumstances. Blossom probably could do with changing out of her bloodied clothes. Maybe while she does that you and I could talk? I was with Blossom when everything happened."

There was a flash of confusion in the Professor's eyes but, as one would expect from a genius scientist, he caught on fast.

"Of course. Thank you young man. Buttercup, Bubbles, why don’t you help Blossom?"

"Dad I think-"

"Please Buttercup."

Buttercup grumbled but followed Blossom to the stairs. Blossom shot a look between Brick and the Professor but both men kept their faces blank. She glared at Brick before heading up the stairs with a huff. This was definitely going to come back and bite him in the ass. Hopefully, he’d have figured out what to say before that though.

"Boys, let's move into the lab. Quickly," the Professor said quickly as he ushered them forward. All three boys rushed through the door and down the stairs, the Professor right behind them. "Now Brick, I expect you to explain everything."

"Look prof, wasn’t us. We were at the internship-"

"Ms. Bellum's? You both are there?"

"Yeah, and she asked us to pick something up for her in town. Blossom insisted on going and I swear I would have tried to convince her not to come but-"

"Once she’s made up her mind it's made up," the Professor said waving him off.

"Seriously. Some guys slashed my tires and we had to walk to a sister site and then I think the same guys who slashed my tires popped out. They were with Him. I managed to get her away, but they knew her name. She cut herself on glass when we were getting away."

The Professor stumbled back a step, hand going to his mouth. "So quickly. We didn’t expect them to move so quickly! Curse Him. Curse Him!"

"Prof, the hell is going on? What would ma want with your daughter?" Butch asked. The Professor shook his head.

"I want out. The girls are graduating, and Blossom wants to be a lawyer so I went to your father and asked for help to get out. We knew Him would make a move we just thought we would have more time! I'm training a replacement to lessen the blow to Him but it’s tricky and Him didn’t exactly agree to any of this. Him also has me making several drugs for him and so there’s a lot that my successor needs to learn. I was hoping to have at least a month before Him noticed!"

"You want out prof? Shit, no wonder Him wants them."

"Seriously. Mom doesn’t like to lose people. Hell, he nearly burned the city down when we got away," Boomer added. Brick frowned.

"But it shouldn’t be that big of a deal if you're training a successor."

The Professor shook his head. "I know too much. Plus, I was involved with getting you three out of that life. Him has held a grudge over that for a long time. Mojo and I are working to obtain some insurance to keep me and my family safe but clearly we have to make the next step sooner than planned."

Brick raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"

"I have to completely remove myself from the girls' lives until this is over and go underground to focus entirely on my successor. I'll have to pack tonight. It shouldn’t take me more than a year and I'm hopeful for 6 months but it's hard to tell."

"Is that safe? To leave the girls alone?" Brick asked. He didn’t like it. This wouldn’t stop Him. If Him wanted the girls, if he thought it would keep the Professor in line, he’d get them. There was very little that could be done to stop Him.

"No, it isn’t. I was looking to see about getting them bodyguards but now there's no time! Curse Him!"

"Well, why don’t we do it?" Boomer asked. Brick and Butch spun to look at their brother. He shrugged. "I mean, Him won’t touch us and if we stand in his way for the girls, he’ll leave them alone. Probably."

"Dude. Uh-uh. I already got a job!"

"Boomer I think it's a little more complicated than that."

"Actually, that isn’t a bad idea. Your mother loves you three immensely. If you were to stay near the girls...that's honestly the safest thing for them."

"Prof! I work!"

"Buttercup has always had an interest in cars and her major is in engineering. Take her with you."

Brick looked at the Professor and had to hold back a groan. He knew that look. Blossom had inherited that look. It was the look they would get when they had an idea they just had to follow through to the end. Him loved that look. It usually meant a new drug.

"Professor I don’t know that this is the best idea. We’d have to stay by them pretty much 24-7."

"You can move in then. My office also serves as a guest room, and I won’t need my room. The sofa is also a futon. A bed for all three of you! And the school has security and there’s plenty of people there, so it won’t really have to be 24-7."

"I mean, I don’t see a problem," Boomer said. Brick and Butch glared at him. Of course he didn’t. He had his eye on the blonde one!

"See?! Please boys, I'll owe you big time!"

Brick groaned as the Professor begged. Truthfully, they still owed the Professor for helping them get out. To be fair, it only made sense to help him get out too. But moving in with three drop dead gorgeous girls that they couldn't really touch...

Boomer and Butch turned to look at him. The final decision would be Brick's. He sometimes really hated being the eldest.

"Fuck. Fine! You don’t owe us though. This'll make us even. You got us out, so we'll help you get out," Brick said pointing at the Professor. He turned to face his brothers. "And you'll get over it Butch. Boomer get that smile off your face. This'll essentially be a job. You're gunna have to have Mitch cover watching the coffee shop for a bit and probably hire someone else too. And we ain't getting paid. Also, prof, you gotta be the one to tell the girls. I don’t want to be anywhere _near_ Blossom when she hears this."

The Professor grimaced. "That's a fair condition. Consider it done. Can you three move in tomorrow?"

Brick huffed. "Yeah. We’ll be here first thing."

* * *

"What?! Dad that makes no sense!"

"Shouldn’t we be calling the police?"

"Daddy! You can’t leave tomorrow! That's too soon!"

"Girls! It has to be this way! Please just trust me on this!" The Professor yelled over his daughters. Bubbles pouted while Buttercup glared out the window. Blossom's brow furrowed. The Professor could tell it didn't make any sense to her.

"I just don’t understand dad. Why them? What could they do that law enforcement can't? What's going on dad?" Blossom asked. The Professor sighed.

"Like I said, it has to be this way. There are things at play here that you girls don’t know about and that I can’t tell you. You all know I don’t work for your typical pharmaceutical company. That's playing a really large role in all this. I promise that this is the safest way. Please trust me."

All three girls watched their father for a moment before exchanging a look. They always had a way of picking up on what each other was thinking with a simple glance. None of them were happy about this but their father rarely asked for anything from them. They turned back to him, minds made up. Blossom sighed.

"Fine. We'll trust you."

The Professor let out a sigh of relief as Bubbles opened her mouth.

"But we don’t want them living here."

Well, there went simple and easy.

"Seriously! Hot as they may be, I don’t need a babysitter dad. Bubs and Bloss maybe yeah, but I'm fine on my own!"

"I'm definitely okay! I'll be even better without those _boys_ creeping around after me!"

"I don’t need babysat either! I definitely don’t need Brick to be the one to do it either. I'm fine. The cut wasn’t even that serious. And why do we even need a babysitter if this really was a one-off incident?"

The Professor had been able to convince the girls that what had happened to Blossom was because a rival company was looking to get him to divulge company secrets. He said that he’d reported the incident though and so it wouldn’t happen again. It had been a semi-plausible story at best, but the girls had accepted it. It wasn’t the first time the Professor had needed a slightly unreasonable story to explain something about his job after all.

"Blossom, sweetheart, you have seven stitches in your arm right now. Please be reasonable, I want to be safe rather than sorry. Just in case," The Professor sighed as he massaged a temple. "As for the boys, they aren’t babysitters. They'll be more along the lines of bodyguards. They'll live here yes, but they won’t be watching over your every move. They'll only follow when you leave. I've asked them to make sure they respect your space when your home and they agreed on the condition that you'll always tell them when you're leaving."

"I don’t like it. Why them even?" Buttercup pouted. Bubbles was giving him a look that said she was 100% with Buttercup. Blossom didn’t seem to be on his side either.

"They know how to see danger because of how they’ve grown up. They might not be trained guards, but they’ll know how to keep you three out of danger. They’re also around your ages so I’m hoping it’ll not tempt the gang more, especially since they probably lost out on money by not succeeding. I’m worried that even with them called off that they might try again just to redeem themselves. Please, do this for me?"

The girls exchanged another look before Blossom sighed. "Fine. For you dad. But if they overstep-!"

"I'll personally come back to set things straight."

The girls still didn’t look happy, but they nodded in agreement. The Professor decided he'd take what he got. Their safety came first, and this was the only way that would put his mind at ease. Him wouldn’t dare try to touch his baby girls with those three here.

* * *

"Dude. What do I even pack? Like the prof said, this’ll be like at least a six-month thing!" Butch groaned as they walked through the front door. Brick growled.

"Like I said Butch, clothes! Also, call work and say you'll be out tomorrow too. Same with you Boom. We’ll get the girls' schedules tomorrow and can make adjustments then."

"You don’t even have to make any though! You got pink stuff and she already goes everywhere with you!"

"You- she doesn't- for fuck's sake Butch no! We work together at Bellum's and have a few classes together and that's it! It’s not even like I have every class with her. She has lit or some shit when I have calc."

"Why the hell are you even taking that class if you're going to a lawyer?" Boomer asked as he went into the first room, his.

"Cause I can! Get off my back about it." Brick grumbled.

"Whatever nerd," Butch said as he went into the second room.

"Fuck you!" Brick yelled back as he walked past the bathroom to the last room.

"Still! Don’t you think the prof was too chill about us knowing the girls? I swear when we were younger the idea of us being near them was enough to put that scary look on his face," Boomer yelled across the apartment.

"Probably doesn’t care now that he’s getting something out of it," Brick yelled back. "Still wouldn't suggest going for the blonde Boom."

"Hah! Like you ain't drooling over the red head!" Butch yelled back. A thump from below sounded as the neighbors below them got fed up with the noise.

"I can keep it in my pants. You two can't!"

"I so can!" Boomer yelled.

"I can’t even try to argue that one so yeah, fair bro. Still, if that little firecracker wants to go a round, why would I even want to say no?"

"See?! I'm not Butch!"

"Would you say no Boom?" Brick yelled back. The thumping sounded again, and Brick stomped back with a glare.

"Well...maybe?"

"Case in point!"

"You think you could say no to little miss prim and proper? Come on bro! She’s exactly your type and she even comes wrapped in a bow!"

Brick felt his face heat at the image that put in his head. "Boom you dick! Don’t put things that way!"

"It’s true!"

"He kinda has a point bro. Plus, you aren’t exactly known for restraint hothead. None of us are, it’s a Jojo brothers’ trait," Butch yelled. Brick growled.

"Both of you fuckers can go nosedive off the Citiesville bridge for all I care at this point! Get fucked!"

"Love you too! Also, getting fucked is kinda what we’re all yelling about- Jesus Christ would these people stop with the thumping on our floor! Shit! Its noon lady! We can be as loud as we fucking like!"

Brick snorted at his youngest brother. And they said he was the hothead. At least all he did was stomp back a bit.

"But no, seriously, do we actually have to say no if they come onto us?" Butch asked as he came out of his room with his first bag of clothes. He looked down that hall into Brick's room. Brick sighed and took off his cap to run a hand through his hair.

"No, we’re all adults after all. If they consent you don’t have to. It just has to be the clearest consent you've ever gotten! And when the prof finds out I don’t wanna be anywhere near you!"

Butch made a face. "Okay, that's a scary thought. Prof finding out. How bad do you think it’d be?"

Boomer came out of his room with a bag as well. "Dude. The man makes meth for the biggest gang lord this side of the country. We’re fucked if we touch his girls," he said with an unhinged kind of a laugh. Butch turned and gave a crazy grin back.

"Sounds like a hell of a ride."

"You two are assuming the girls would even be into you! Bubbles has a boyfriend Boom. And Buttercup ran away without giving you her number Butch. You think either of them want to even consider being with either of you in any way?" Brick asked as he stepped out with a bag of his own. His brothers exchanged a look before shrugging.

"I mean, it got pretty hot in the club that night. She was pretty into it before you called me. Plus, she didn’t leave me with no way to contact her. I just had to think a bit to figure it out is all."

"I doubt Bubbles is going to stay with that guy much longer. I remember thinking that they so didn’t match up when they were in the café that one time."

"Plus, bro, you just say that cause there ain't no way prim and proper would let you anywhere near her goods."

Brick groaned as he rubbed a hand across his face. "Butch, Blossom has had several boyfriends and she’s had no problem being physical with them from what I’ve heard so I don’t think prim and proper is the best nickname. But I like living . I'd maybe like to keep doing it for, oh I don’t know, another good 60 years or so? So, with how terrifying the Prof is, I'll stay away from Blossom to keep breathing away."

His brothers exchanged another look before cracking up.

"Brick you're so fucked. I bet 50 bucks she makes a move before the six-month mark and Brick caves," Boomer said as grinned at Butch.

"Shit baby blue. That's so soft. I give it two fucking months."

"Deal!" They shook on it as Brick glared.

"Get packed fuckers before I throw you both out the window."

* * *

"So, what do we do?" Buttercup asked. Blossom sighed as she brushed her hair.

"Nothing. Dad made that pretty clear. We let them do their job and everything will be just fine."

Buttercup snorted while Bubbles played with a pigtail.

"Bloss, I mean, they seemed kinda into us at the bar. Don’t you think it’ll be awkward? Plus, Boomer makes me nervous."

"Oh, whatev Bubs. I'm still convinced you're totally into the attention the blond one was giving you. Cabel is way too tame for you. I’m telling you, none of us can do tame."

"Bloss! Make her take it back!"

"Sorry Bubbles. Cabel is pretty...tame. It's what you always complain about when you break up with guys too. Maybe you do need someone a little...rough around the edges?" Blossom said with an apologetic look at her sister through the mirror. Bubbles' jaw dropped.

"Bloss!"

Buttercup cackled. "Hell yes! See, Bloss knows where it's at Bubs. What you really need is a guy who isn’t afraid to throw you across his bed and completely ravage you."

"Well, I was thinking along the lines of someone just a little more assertive. Cabel does tend to just roll over at the first sign of conflict. Even you say he’s a handful to deal with when he gets pouty because he never clearly expresses the issue or if it’s been addressed or not. I will say though, the ravaging is always a bonus. If you can find a guy good at it."

Bubbles pouted at them both before turning away in a huff. Buttercup looked at her older sister.

"I bet that Brick could really take a girl for a ride."

Blossom sputtered as she spun around to throw her brush at Buttercup. "Don’t even!"

"Just saying!" Buttercup said, still laughing as she caught the brush and set it down on the table next to her. Blossom huffed before turning back to her vanity and grabbing her spare brush.

"I enjoy my sex life thank you very much," Bubbles said, nose in the air. Buttercup snorted.

"Yeah, that's the problem Bubs. You enjoy it. It ain't panty dropping, life stopping good though. It’s just enjoyable."

"Leave her be Buttercup. If she's satisfied, then that's enough. There is more than just the physical side of things in a healthy relationship," Blossom said, her face slowly losing the red.

"Exactly!"

"And Bubbles, stop discounting everything she say. A healthy sex life is important in a relationship too you know. You need balance."

"Hah!"

"Bloss!"

"I’m just saying! You two are both too extreme."

"Oh, like you aren’t extreme in your own way," Buttercup said with a look. Bubbles nodded and gave her the same look.

"Seriously! Nobody's perfect Bloss. They can’t always have it all."

"I'm not looking for perfect. I'm just looking for someone who can keep up."

Both of her sisters snorted at that. "Right. Hear that Bubs? She doesn’t want perfect but she’s looking for someone who can keep up."

"Oh, I heard Buttercup. The contradiction was extreme to say the least."

"Oh, would you two knock it off! I'm not that bad!"

"Then why aren’t you even considering hat head? Huh? He’s smart and from the looks of it more than strong enough to throw you onto a bed and-"

Blossom made a weird, straggled noise that had both her sisters looking at her in concern.

"Do you even know who those three are?!" She managed to squeeze out. Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged looks before shrugging. "They're the Jojo brothers!"

"What?!" Bubbles shrieked as she recoiled away from her sister. Buttercup frowned.

"Who?"

"How do you not know who the Jojo brothers are?! They're only the hottest topic on campus! Literally! Like they have a fan club each and they're always getting into trouble too. I heard once that the eldest one punched a teacher!" Bubbles said wide eyed at Buttercup.

"Actually," Blossom spoke up, "it was a teacher aide, and I will admit that the guy deserved it. No charges were pressed either. Probably because the students were all pretty mad with the aide and supported Brick. I think the aide was scared of what they’d do if he did press charges. He even denied it happened to the school so Brick didn’t end up suspended."

"Wait! It actually happened?! Oh my gosh, I swore that one was just a rumor."

Blossom shrugged. "It happened. I was there at the end of it all."

"Still not ringing any bells but power to the man for sticking it to someone," Buttercup said. Both sisters frowned at her.

"I can’t believe you don’t know them," Bubbles said. Blossom scoffed.

"You're not much better Bubs. How many other people do you know named Brick, Butch, or Boomer?"

"I never hear them referred to by name! It's always by their weird title things!"

"Titles?" Buttercup asked. Blossom nodded.

"Yeah, some nicknames they've earned because of their actions. Brick, the Bludgeoner. Butch, the Baron of Berserk. Boomer, the Dumb and Dumbest."

"Apparently the Bludgeoner is known for muscling his way through problems. Just blows them away, by actual, physical force sometimes even. The Baron of Berserk sent a guy to the hospital after a bar fight because he wouldn’t stop attacking the guy. They say when he’s mad he goes blind like a legit berserker. The Dumb and Dumbest I haven’t really heard a lot about to be honest. I am curious though, what do you do to get a nickname like that even?" Bubbles asked in thought. Blossom sighed through her nose.

"From what I've heard it was because Boomer went after some powerful person's daughter while she was still dating someone else who was also powerful or something. Needless to say, he supposedly ended up in the hospital and when he got out he still had the guts to send the girl a bouquet of flowers. There’s a string of stories like that one too."

"Okay, deserved and concerning! I don’t want him interested in me!" Bubbles whined.

"Sure blondey. Sure. Still, does the guy at least respect the word no or should we actually be worried?" Buttercup asked.

"I’ve heard that there’s very good reasons when any of them are violent and there’s not a single rumor about any of them forcing themselves on anyone. They all respect the word no," Blossom said.

"Clearly not! I made it clear-"

"Did you actually say no Bubs?"

"...no..."

"Case in point. On a couple points too, I think."

"Bloss!"

"Well good to know they aren’t total sleazebags," Buttercup said, snickering at Bubbles.

"No, they're all actually pretty good people from what I've heard. Definitely rough around the edges but they think of others. If you're stuck in a bind, they say having a Jojo on your side is a sure way to get unstuck quick. It might not be easy but it’ll be quick."

"I still don’t like it. I'm inviting Cabel!"

"Oh, please don’t."

"Ugh Bubs no! Don’t torture me like this!"

"Jeeze! You're both so mean! I’m calling Robbie then!"

* * *

“I see. Well maybe it won’t be too bad. And your dad wouldn’t have asked these boys to help out if he didn’t think you needed it,” Robin said as she put the phone on speaker.

“So not true! Daddy has always been way overprotective!” Bubbles loudly complained. Robin shook her head with a smile as she pulled up her messages. “And he even insisted that what happened to Blossom wouldn’t happen again. So, why even ask these guys to watch us?! UGH!”

How serious is it? <

> Not the worst it could be, but it could be better.

> I’ve never had to get stiches before though. New experience.

“Well, do you want me to go over tomorrow? I can act as a buffer maybe?”

And these guys? <

“Maybe? I don’t know Robbie. I just don’t see the point.”

> Has she mentioned the blond one to you yet?

“Your dad’s a smart guy. He wouldn’t have asked them to stick around if there wasn’t a reason.”

No but now I need to know. What about him? <

“I think daddy just doesn’t want to leave us alone for six months without someone watching over us but we’re adults. I _so_ don’t need a babysitter.”

> You know if she hasn’t said then I won’t either.

> All I’ll say is that Bubbles is more worried about one guy in particular.

“Come one Bubs, that doesn’t sound like him. He’s left you three alone before.”

“But never for six months before! Ugh! I don’t like it!”

Don’t leave me hanging!! <

Deets! <

“So you think that there isn’t even the slightest justification to what your dad is doing at all?”

> Nope. Can’t.

> To be honest though, I’m not surprised dad did this though.

> My only issue really is who he chose.

> Buttercup doesn’t like it at all though.

Bubbles sighed heavily. “Fine. Maybe there is a somewhat actual reason. Has Bloss tattled all the details to you yet?”

Uh-oh. Caught. Peace. <

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Bubs,” Robin said with an unconvincing laugh as she took it off speaker and brought it back to her ear.

“Uh-huh. Whatever. What all has she said?”

“Come on Bubs, it’s not like that.”

“Then what did she say?”

Robin sighed. “First, I owe you a cup of tea. It wasn’t cool that I was texting Bloss while talking to you.”

“It’s fine Robbie. I know you just wanted to make sure I wasn’t exaggerating. I’m not totally unaware of what I’m like. I’m not mad. You’re still getting me that cup of tea though.”

“Deal,” Robin said with a light chuckle. “As for what Bloss said, she didn’t say much. Mostly it was that she wasn’t surprised, Buttercup isn’t happy, and that you and Bloss don’t like who your dad chose.”

Bubbles huffed. “Understatement of the year. Ugh, there’s this one guy, right? And okay, he is maybe a little cute but he was way flirty with me even when he knows I have Cabel!”

“…Did you ask him to stop?”

“Oh my gosh! Not you too!”

Robin laughed. “Come on Bubs. It’s a valid question with you. I’ve seen you flirt right in front of one of your boyfriends before. It usually happens when you’re starting to get fed up with the relationship to be honest.”

“I so never did that!”

“Mark? Freshman year? You flirted with Johan who just the week prior you said was so not your type.”

“…That’s not a good example at all. You know Mark was flirting earlier that week with Kelly!”

“No, he was asking for help with math. Can’t really blame the guy either, seeing as how he was in calculus at the time.”

“I still say not valid. Mark wasn’t even that into me.”

“He bought you a two-hundred-dollar necklace for Valentine’s Day. You’d been together for a month!”

“…Fine! Maybe I did that once or twice. I just don’t know how to tell them it’s over though! You know that.”

“It’s really not that hard Bubs. You just say you don’t think it’s working out anymore. I’m sure they’d appreciate that more than being led along.”

“But I don’t want to hurt their feelings!”

“Arguably, leading the guy on does the most harm here.”

“Ugh! Robbie! Be on my side!”

Robin laughed again. “I am! Being on your side though means that I have to tell you when you need to shape up though. Look, just tell the guy you really don’t want to mess things up with Cabel and that you’d like if he could respect that and not make moves on you. If he still doesn’t back off then just sick Buttercup on him.”

“Somehow I don’t think daddy would appreciate hearing that Buttercup hospitalized one of our new bodyguards.”

Robin and Bubbles both laughed about that.

* * *

Buttercup groaned as she heard the ding of her phone. Reaching blindly over to her nightstand, she grabbed the thing before rolling onto her side to check it.

> Hows Bloss

Mitch. Buttercup had forgotten that she’d texted him earlier. She had wanted to go with Blossom to urgent care and so she’d needed to cancel her work-out session with Mitch for the day.

Fine. Hear bout the rest? <

> Rest of wat?

Got a babysitter <

> No joke? Why? U need 1?

Guess so. Dad wanted it <

> Sure ur lovin that

Fuck off <

They show to temp move in tomorrow <

> Want me to com show em wats wat?

Like I need u to <

Show em myself <

Ill just ditch em first chance I get <

> That a good idea?

Why not <

Bed now <

Peace out <

> Can always hide out at my place

> If u need a break

> Night

Buttercup snorted at that before closing her phone and putting it back. That’s right, all she needed to do was ditch them and prove that she didn’t need babysat. Her sisters she could understand but her? She could handle herself just fine. She’d prove it too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope it was obvious enough when they were texting but if not, let me know and I'll go re-format that. Hope you all enjoyed! I should be good to post another chapter in about a months time. Until then, ciao!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! It was a short intro chapter. Next chapter will be more my typical chapter length.  
> Be back with more here before New Year's! Ciao!


End file.
